No Risk, No Reward
by MidnightRoulette
Summary: Remy Vanderbilt, also known as Roulette, is a loose cannon. With no money to fund her heroic aspirations, she turns to a mysterious and dangerous financier. When one of her jobs is interrupted by the Dark Knight he offers her a way out. OC/Speedy or KF.
1. Clandestine Meetings

Authors Note: Hi, so this is my first story and despite the fact that _none _of the Young Justice characters have made an appearance... this _is _a Young Justice story. I'm new at this and still trying to figure out the formatting, by the way so if anyone has any tips for me, I would _love _to hear them. I guess if anyone likes the story I will continue to post chapters. If not... well I'll try something else :) Anyways, I'm planning on this to be a mix of a bit of mystery, adventure, drama and romance. Hopefully my OC will fit in well with the other characters :) I would love some constructive criticism and if you catch any mistakes please tell me! Oh and while I'm at it... what the heck is a Mary-Sue character? Apparently it's bad, so if someone could please explain the concept to me it would be much appreciated.

XOXO Noelle 3

Disclaimer: I won't pretend that I own Young Justice. I just don't. Remy, on the other hand, _is _my character.

Chapter One: Clandestine Meetings

Remy considered her options carefully as she watched this blonde hair, blue-eyed specimen. A swift uppercut to the jaw would knock him flat. A series of strategically placed and well-timed jabs to the body's pressure points would disable his motor skills. Even a simple left hook—provided it had enough force behind it—would do the trick.

Remy shook her head. _You can't solve all your problems this way, _her conscience reminded her.

Remy unclenched her fists and instead took a bite out of her apple. Chewing slowly, she looked across the quad at Star City High, longingly staring at Chase Daniels. She watched as he tossed a few pieces of hair from his forehead and laughed at something his friend Jared had said. From her vantage point—that is, under the old oak tree—she could see his arms flexing as he pointed towards the auditorium.

Remy sighed and speared some of her salad with a fork. She longed to be able to talk to Chase. Every time she passed him in the hallways, sat next to him in her Spanish Literature class, or even just saw him from afar, she longed to speak with him.

She could incapacitate an attacker three times her size, and yet she couldn't even talk to a guy. _That _was pure genius, Remy thought to herself.

Chase Daniels, in theory, was perfect. And in theory, Remy _thought_ she was. It was, in fact, her over inflated ego—stemming from the fact that no one ever told her _no _—that she had created a problem. Remy remembered perfectly, the first day of junior year, she had seen Chase, decided he was _hers_ and marched right up to him demanding a date.

Well, as most people would expect—not Remy of course—Chase had simply laughed at her and asked her who she was.

Hot anger and rage had boiled up inside of her and Remy had almost lost it. As he waited for her answer, she was mentally tabulating the most effective way to break his neck.

_No one, _she had answered out loud.

_No one, _she amended internally, _says no to Remy Vanderbilt and lives._

A smug grin had flitted across his golden features and had—dammit—made her heart do a flip flop, despite the snub. Remy had just been about to beat the smugness out of him when the bell for first period rang.

Remy snapped out of that memory as she heard her name being called. "_Hello Remy_!" The nasal voice of her sometimes friend Jenna Clark grated against her ears. "The bell rang five minutes ago!" She shouted from across the quad. "You've been spacing!"

It was only then that she realized the quad was empty of everyone, save for herself, Jenna, and a few burnouts lighting up their cigarettes. Remy slid her unfinished food back into the brown paper sack and stood up, pushing her long, dark hair over her shoulder.

She was late for gym class.

* * *

Remy hated wasting time. Especially in gym class, a class that was about as useful as a tennis player with no racquet. More than that, she hated mediocrity. From the first day of school and on she had come to expect mediocrity. Especially in gym class, where hardly anyone could run a mile without stopping to walk. As she ran the mile at approximately an eight minute pace, she glanced at her watch. 1:36 pm, PST, it read. The temperature was 76 degrees, a perfectly normal day by anyone's standards.

Except that it wasn't a normal day. It never was. She had arranged to me meet with Travis at three, which meant that she would have to ditch seventh period and drive like a madwoman to the subway station on the east side of the city.

_Worry about that later_, Remy reminded herself as she focused back on the track. Jenna smiled encouragingly at her from the sidelines. Remy rolled her eyes and finished the mile, with the _mediocre_ time of eight minutes and six seconds. Jenna cheered loudly—no obnoxiously—for no apparent reason other than to embarrass her.

"Awesome run, Bestie!" Jenna giggled, throwing her arms around Remy's neck.

Remy lightly pushed her off, though the smell of Jenna's lavender perfume still lingered on her gym clothes. _Great, _Remy thought, disgusted, _just great._ "What do you want Jenna?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, twirling her blonde hair around a finger. Jenna smiled coyly at Remy, and Remy stared back, waiting for Jenna to fess up. After all, the only reason Jenna was ever nice to someone—even Remy—was when she needed something. In fact, Jenna was the kind of person who would be your best friend a week and then run off with someone else because you wore mismatching socks.

_So trivial_, Remy sneered, narrowing her eyes at Jenna.

"Alright, alright," Jenna sighed, dropping the overly friendly smile. "I need a wing man for this guy Todd's party—"

"No." Remy turned from Jenna and began walking towards the locker room.

"I just figured since you have a car, but no _life—_" Jenna wheedled, keeping pace next to her friend.

"Insulting someone generally isn't a good way to get their help," Remy stated, her voice flat.

Jenna jumped in front of Remy and put her hands out in a _stop_ gesture. Remy crossed her arms and sighed. "Please Remy," she whined, "I really _like_ this guy!"

"You say that every single time you talk to one."

"This is different."

"You say that too," Remy snorted and pushed Jenna out of the way. Jenna huffed loudly and lagged behind Remy as she headed into the locker room.

Remy quickly began taking off her gym clothes and studiously folding them, piling them up in her locker. Jenna snapped open her locker and a multitude of lotions, body sprays and other feminine hygiene products came pouring out. She quickly dropped to her knees and started pushing them back into the small metal locker.

"We can have a girls day!" Jenna offered, as if that would sway Remy. "The party isn't until like nine pm on Saturday. We can spend the entire day just hanging out. Get our nails done, go shopping-"

"Not good enough," Remy informed her, sliding on her jeans and her sweatshirt. She reached around and tied her long tresses into a pony tail before spraying some perfume that smelled like honeysuckle.

"I'll throw in lunch at that Chinese restaurant you like," Jenna insisted.

"Nope, sorry Jenna." Remy finished tying her sneakers and shouldered her bag, stalking off towards the exit.

"I'll let you look at my Dad's case files!" Jenna threw out one last desperate attempt. The one she wasn't authorized to offer, but the one that Remy couldn't resist.

Remy stopped dead in her tracks and turned, smirking at Jenna. "I'll pick you up at 10:30 am, _sharp_ Jenna. I won't sit in front of your house and let my car idle. Do not be late."

* * *

Remy glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time as she waited for Travis on the corner of 3rd and Watson. The meeting would go much as it always did. Travis would drive up in his old red junker, Remy would get in, and they'd drive to Travis' warehouse. Also known as his basement.

Travis Coolidge was a twenty six year old weapons dealer that still lived with his mother. Where he got his supplies, she had no idea. How Travis managed to keep his mother from finding out about his little business, also eluded her. Remy, however, didn't care too much as long as she got what she needed. Over the past few years, Travis had proved himself capable of getting anything and everything she needed.

It was out of a grudging respect that she tolerated his bullshit.

Remy remained attached to the street sign at 3rd and Watson for almost another hour. Travis had been the one to stress to her the importance of doing this on time, and yet he was a full hour late. Remy was in the middle of considering whether or not she could make it to Travis' house before dark or not when he finally drove up.

Remy slid in to the passenger seat, wordlessly kicking the fast food wrappers away from her feet. Travis's car always smelled like McDonalds, and for someone like Remy who _never_ ate that crap, it was the car ride from hell.

"What took you so long?" Remy asked, glancing at the windows. Travis's car windows were practically brown. She looked at a small round spot on the window and decisively began cleaning it off with the sharp edge of her nail.

Travis coughed nervously and cleared his throat. Three times. "I thought I was being followed. I had to drive around until I lost them."

Remy stopped picking at the window and turned towards Travis. "And you still came and picked me up?" Remy slowly turned her head and glanced out the back window, looking for anyone that looked suspicious.

"I told you, I lost them," Travis sneered.

"Do you know what would happen if someone caught me buying military grade weapons from you?" Travis shrugged. "_Do _you?" Travis snorted at Remy's "harsh" tone of voice. "My ass would be grass and so would yours, dumbshit. We'd _both _go to prison, considering the fact that you're not licensed to sell those weapons."

"Look I know that alright," Travis said, gripping the steering wheel unnecessarily hard as he made a right turn to get onto the freeway ramp. "Just relax."

"Why are we going this way?" Remy demanded, looking back over her shoulder. "Your house is the other way."

"I've changed my meeting place," he said gruffly, signaling to get into the carpool lane. "Ma was getting a bit suspicious." Remy nodded and sat back, simply watching the cars that too, were driving by. She did, however, frequently look over her shoulder to check for any suspicious activity.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Travis, it was just… she _didn't_ trust Travis. Remy didn't trust anyone for that matter. And of all the people on the planet, why would she trust Travis Coolidge? He was illegally selling weapons to minors—Remy herself—and a multitude of odd characters that probably would go on to become criminals.

Remy just chose to ignore the fact that she was the one _buying _weapons illegally. But if it came down to it, she would tell anyone else the same thing. _Don't trust me. _Remy was a firm believer in being self-sufficient. If you couldn't do something yourself, you should either learn how to do it or go without it.

Asking for help was a clear sign of weakness, and Remy _would not _show any weakness.

Remy shook herself from her thoughts. "This is it?" Travis had taken the Weston street exit and parked underneath the highway bridge. That left them in downtown Star City, a place that any sane person didn't want to be after dark.

Remy went to open her door just as Travis locked it. She turned abruptly in her seat and narrowed her eyes. "What is this, Travis?"

"Look, someone's been tailing me for the past few weeks," he admitted, nervously glancing in his rear view mirror. Remy had noticed him doing this every few seconds on the drive down. "I can't do business like I used to. That's why we're stopping here for now."

"Alright then. Let's talk business," Remy grunted. "What do you have for me?"

"Well I ordered the Mossberg four by four bolt action rifle, as per your personal request, but I really think you should've gone with the—"

"Did I ask for your opinion on my choice of firearms?" Travis remained silent. "Didn't think so. Continue."

"I also ordered a Cheytac Intevention .408 Caliber. A sniper rifle," he informed me.

"Well _I _didn't order that," Remy muttered. She had ordered the cheapest sniper rifle Travis could get and the price sat around eleven hundred dollars. She did _not_ order a Cheytac, no matter how much she had drooled over it when she had glanced through Travis' catalogues. The low-end stuff would serve its purpose perfectly. "How much extra will _that_ cost me?"

"Not too much," he said, offhandedly. He smiled a sickly little smile causing Remy to roll her eyes. "I got it pretty cheap."

"Alright, alright," Remy waved it off. To be honest, she didn't really care how much it cost. You couldn't put a price on quality after all. Of course, it also helped that she now had a financier to fund her little operations. "Go on."

"I ordered those exploding poker chips you wanted." The words seemed to roll off of Travis' tongue in a strange way, as if he weren't used to saying this. Which, most people weren't. "Also, the rest of your usual… toys."

"And the cane?" Remy raised her eyebrows.

"Completely adjustable, just unscrew the cap and there's your switchblade," Travis grinned.

Remy managed to contain her disgust at Travis' obvious passion for weapons. She didn't know _anyone_ that would actually grin at the mention of a switchblade. At least she hadn't until she'd met Travis.

"Do you have paper and pen?" Remy asked.

"Yeah," he grunted, searching underneath the driver's side chair until he produced a pen and a candy wrapper.

Remy fixed Travis with a flat look and he shrugged. She sighed and proceeded to write down her contact's phone number. "Whatever I owe you, fax a receipt to this number and then destroy the fax machine. They'll send you a new one along with your payment."

Travis stared at her strangely and Remy, to her credit, didn't flinch under his mocking stare. "You've gotten some new funding? I thought—no wait, you know what? I don't want to know."

"Good choice." Remy nodded approvingly. "Now let's go."

"Uh-huh, this is your stop." Travis shook his head.

"What do you mean? I live uptown and we're in _downtown,_" Remy reminded him.

"I know, but you can take care of yourself," Travis shrugged. "Besides I've got another client waiting. Take the two silver briefcases from the trunk and get out of here."

"You cannot be serious," Remy scoffed.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Travis gritted his teeth and pointedly locked and unlocked the door. "Now."

Remy groaned and pushed open the door as Travis popped the trunk. "Fine. Remember my instructions though. I'll come by your house later to make sure you've destroyed the fax machine."

"Creeper," he muttered underneath his breath.

"Keep calling me a creeper and you might wake up missing a few not exactly vital appendages." Remy walked to the back of Travis' car and picked out the only silver briefcases in the trunk.

Not a second after she slammed the trunk, Travis was already starting the engine. He revved it a few times before tearing off at top speed and managing to spray Remy with a fresh coat of dirt.

"Asshole!" Remy called, coughing as she waved the cloud of dust out of her face. As she watched Travis turn the corner, she sighed.

This was _so _not how she pictured herself spending a Friday night.


	2. Welcome to the Party

Author's Note: Well here is chapter two! Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review! I hope you guys like this next chapter. If you catch any mistakes please let me know and I'd love to hear what you think so far! Oh, and by the way, apparently there is a villain in DC Comics named Roulette—which I wasn't aware of until a reviewer pointed it out—and I'd just like to clarify that Remy is not _that_ Roulette. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

Chapter Two: Welcome to the Party

"—and I told Todd he looks just like Matthew McConaughey except for, you know, the brown hair and green eyes. He's also not that muscular but—"

"Hey, Jenna." Remy stared straight ahead as they waited at the door.

"Yeah?" Jenna glanced over.

"Shut up."

"Fine, then I _won't _tell you all about Todd's cute friend Eric." Jenna let out a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms, probably thinking that her silence would somehow upset Remy.

_As if,_ Remy scoffed internally. If anything, the fact that Jenna had _finally _shut up made Remy feel just slightly more relaxed. As they waited for someone to unlock the front door, Remy couldn't help but recall the shitty day she'd had.

Remy had dealt with Jenna's yammering _all _day and she hadn't complained once. She hadn't complained about the fact that Jenna had made _Remy _pay for lunch. She also hadn't complained about the fact that Jenna, upon entering Remy's car, sprayed an overpowering amount of perfume. All over the place. And of course she didn't complain when Jenna launched into the dramatic tale of how her cousin Meredith had come onto her recent paramour, Juan.

"I loved him, I really did," Jenna had burst out tearfully. "We were together for so long!" The Vietnamese woman doing Jenna's nails looked up at Remy in horror. Remy smiled grimly, hoping her expression passed for apologetic.

Nevertheless, Remy had turned to Jenna and made an attempt being sympathetic. "Two weeks. Such a shame."

"I know, God!" She cried, wiping the dripping mascara out from underneath her eyes. "That's what happens when you commit to someone! They just cheat and lie and—"

The other patrons were definitely looking at Jenna now. Upon seeing the manager of the nail salon start towards them, Remy quickly interrupted Jenna. "So. Tell me about Todd."

That had stopped the tears and Jenna had been more than happy to relate the story of how she and Todd met. Apparently Jenna was an expert on body language as well as human psychology, based on the type of assertions she was making.

"See Remy, I totally know he's the one since before we hooked up, he held my hand. And like kind of leaned over me, you know? That's body language for 'I'm totally into you.'"

Since then, Jenna hadn't shut up about Todd. By the time they had eaten lunch, gotten their nails done, gone shopping and then gotten on the road to the actual party, Remy knew Todd's entire life story. He moved here recently from Kentucky, attended Jump City Community College, and liked to smoke pot. He also had a dog name Chewy, wore boxer briefs, and hated playing Racquetball. It was all very pertinent information according to Jenna.

To say that Remy was sick of hearing about Todd was an understatement.

Remy considered Jenna's rants pointless and a complete waste of time. This party was entirely pointless, and Remy hated that she had agreed to this. Jenna glanced at Remy out of the corner of her eye as Remy fingered the pocket knife resting in the back of her jeans. The pounding music coming from behind Todd's front door was already getting on her nerves.

"You seriously brought that thing?" Jenna asked, disgusted.

Remy smiled grimly. "Never leave home without—"

The door swung open and Remy was greeted with the sweet stench of marijuana and booze. Throngs of people populated the front room, drinking and grinding up against each other as music blared out of a few very large speakers.

"Let's find Todd." Jenna wrapped her hand around Remy's wrist and tugged her into the crowd of people.

It would have been easy to break Jenna's hold on her wrist, but then again, what was the point? Remy had dug her own grave and enabled Jenna by agreeing to come.

The old expression about reaping what you sow flashed into Remy's mind briefly as the two girls pushed their way towards the kitchen. A random hand flashed out to grab at Jenna and Remy swatted it away, glaring at the guy. He simply shrugged and turned away, disappearing into the crowd as Jenna pulled Remy towards the beer keg.

"Get me a drink," Jenna ordered, her voice oddly assertive as she looked around the kitchen for Todd. "I'm goanna go look outside." Upon seeing Remy's flat expression, she put her hands up. "Brb, I promise!"

Remy nodded, not really caring whether or not Jenna was telling the truth. She was more or less irritated the Jenna thought she could boss Remy around. As Jenna snaked out through the back door, Remy went to the tap and filled up two of the red cups.

_Cheers, _she thought sardonically, taking a sip.

* * *

"If I said I want your body, would you hold it against me?" Erik laughed.

Remy stared at him, a flat expression on her face. "Did you really just ask me that?"

"I play the field and it looks like I just hit a home run with you." He grinned stupidly and Remy repressed the urge to strangle him. When he leaned closer, however, and his hands began to creep towards Remy's waist, she decided she didn't care about his health anymore.

"Oh you know what? I've got one for you!"

"Go for it, Rachel." Remy ignored the fact that he had been calling her Rachel all night. From the moment Jenna had introduced the two of them until now, it was an endless slew of cheesy pickup lines. Addressed to _Rachel_, not _Remy._

"Did it hurt?" She asked.

He pointed at her cheesily and grinned. "When I fell from heaven? Oh yes."

"No, when you fell from the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down." Her frank expression as she sipped her beer was in total opposition to the look of horror on Erik's face. "Keep it in your pants asshole."

She set the now empty red cup on an end table and left a shocked Erik behind her. Remy felt Jenna's curious gaze wander towards her, but ignored it as she sauntered out the back door of Todd's house.

The night air was surprisingly chilly for a night in California, but it served as a cleanser for Remy's muddled thoughts. She was feeling slightly dizzy from the lack of air in Todd's living room and eagerly gulped in a few deep breaths. Of course, she had also been drinking beer all night—an attempt to drown out Jenna's chattiness and Erik's attempts at flirting—which didn't help much with clearing her head.

_Stupid,_ Remy confirmed. She knew she had been stupid. Remy didn't drink and definitely should have. She didn't have the luxury of getting completely wasted at parties or staying out all hours dancing. Remy Vanderbilt was supposed to be concerned with far greater things. Things that _meant _something in the scheme of the world.

At least that's what she told herself as she slid down the back of Todd's fence until her butt hit the ground. She took out her phone and glanced at the time. It was already one-thirty in the morning. Remy sighed and pulled out her pocket knife, tossing it into the air and catching it repetitively.

Once, Remy would've wanted guys like Erik to pay attention to her. Once, she would have wanted a friend like Jenna, someone who was carefree and fun all the time. She might have even wanted to _be like_ Jenna.

Remy stopped caught her knife and shoved it into her pocket, laughing out loud. Saying that she wanted to be like Jenna was entirely untrue. Jenna was unintelligent and easy, giving herself away to any guy who asked.

That wasn't Remy. Remy knew who she was and respected herself. She was imperfect, sure, but she didn't have a shitload of problems because of it. She knew that her nose was a little too turned up at the end, giving her a snotty appearance. She knew that her muddled hazel eyes were too close together and that her hairline was a tad too high. Remy was also aware of the fact that she wasn't exactly a sugar-sweet person.

Perhaps a nice personality would have offset the severe cheekbones and the dark circles under her eyes she had accrued from staying out all hours of the night. Maybe a sweet disposition would have offset the fact that she knew hew to kill a man with her bare hands. She mentally rolled her eyes, knowing deep in her gut that it wouldn't.

Remy decided she didn't care.

She stood up, dusting her jeans off. She was just putting her palm on the doorknob when her phone rang. Glancing down at the caller identification she felt at the familiar mixture of fear and adrenaline rush through her veins as she held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"I'm sending you the coordinates, Roulette. Be there in twenty minutes. You know the rules. Destroy the phone."

"Don't call me—" Click. Remy should've been used to this by now. The phone calls were always the same. A meeting place and a time limit, nothing more nothing less. Remy glanced down at her phone and saw that she was meeting her contact at the city park.

She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Jenna, letting her know that she was going for a walk before destroying the phone completely.

* * *

"Two minutes to spare. You have impeccable timing, Roulette." Her contact, Phase, chuckled from somewhere behind her in the bushes.

She had never actually seen his face or even the man himself—he was always hiding—but Remy could recognize the voice from a mile away. She shifted uncomfortably on the bench and calmed her shaking nerves by taking a deep breath.

"I told you not to call me Roulette," Remy snapped.

"Not quite feeling heroic anymore? What a shame," he tsked.

Remy stared straight ahead, resisting the urge to peel back the bushes and gut Phase from head to toe. "What is it now?"

"Close your eyes," he ordered. "I'm going to hand you the mission file."

Remy did as she was told, knowing full well that Phase would only make things more difficult for her if she didn't comply. She heard the bushes rustle slightly and felt a thick file folder slide onto the bench next to her.

"Everything you need to know about the target is in this file," Phase informed her.

"Another hit job?" Remy laughed blackly. "I'm beginning to see a pattern here Phase. Are the Shadows always this predictable?"

Remy felt a rock about the size of her fist pelt her in the back of the head. "Keep your voice down. It is a possibility that we are being watched."

Remy rubbed the back of her head and scowled off into the darkness of Jump City Regional Park. _That _was going to leave a mark. "Do you always make a habit of abusing the people you work with?"

"Give me one more reason to have you cancelled, Roulette," he warned, his voice taking on a harsher tone than normal.

Remy ran a hand through her hair, breathing out slowly. "I'm sick of doing these jobs Phase. This isn't what I wanted."

"Sure it is," Phase snorted. "You need money to save people. The Shadows saw potential in you. It's a win-win situation."

"I will never join the League of Shadows," Remy said, her voice low. "I am an indep—"

"An independent contractor. I know," Phase said disgusted. "But trust me, the Shadows won't give up so easily. Tell me, Roulette—"

Remy clenched her fists. "I told you to stop calling me that."

"—where would you be without us? You may not admit it, but before we took you under our wing, you were an amateur. Would you be able to do any good without our funding? Think about _that._"

"I just wanted to help people," she said quietly, hating how weak her voice sounded. She cleared her throat and took on a more assertive tone. "You said that this wouldn't interfere with my ambitions."

"You do good work for the Shadows," Phase chuckled and she could almost _hear_ the smirk in his voice. "You're one of the most talented killers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"I'm not a murderer," Remy insisted, a statement directed more towards herself rather than Phase. "I'm not."

"Don't be naïve. You were _born _this way, just like so many before you. It's in your blood."

Remy felt her temperature rising and she stood up. "I'm going to help people someday, Phase and when I'm able, I swear on pain of death that I will _gut _you."

He laughed as if her words were just _so _funny. "Thank you for making my point for me." Remy's face stung and she clutched the folder to her chest, trying to get a look at Phase through the bushes. "Face it Remy Vanderbilt, you're no hero."

"This meeting is over," she announced, standing up. "You can go back to stalking me from afar now, asshole."

Phase snorted and Remy heard the bushes rustle. "Be careful what you wish for Roulette."

* * *

Remy pushed open the door to her apartment, tiredly rubbing her eyes. Outside, the sky was already beginning to show the lightest hue of pink. _At least it's Sunday,_ Remy consoled herself.

After her meeting with Phase, Remy had returned to the party to take Jenna home, only to find out that Jenna had left with Todd's friend Erik. A dejected Todd had tearfully confessed to Remy that Erik was a total sex god and that it was no wonder all of his girlfriends skipped out on him for Erik. Remy quickly extracted herself from that situation and thanked Todd for throwing the party, not really meaning it.

With nothing left to do, she had grabbed her keys and driven to the midtown Arbors—Jenna's apartment complex—to take a peek at her Dad's case files. Jenna's father was visiting her grandparents in Steel City after all and Jenna was probably still with Erik.

Clearly, having a friend as unintelligent as Jenna had its advantages, since Jenna had been more than happy to provide Remy with the passcode to turn off their security system. Remy had gotten into the apartment without any real problems and had been able to filch through a few files. She'd checked up on a few cold case murders that had never been solved and made copies for her own records. It had then been a simple matter of picking the lock on Sheriff Clark's bottom desk drawer where she was able to glance at his most recent cases, deciding that she could help speed things along for the brave boys in blue.

Roulette wasn't slowed down by bureaucracy. She could deliver justice more swiftly and well, more justly.

But now, as she slid her car keys onto the kitchen island and kicked off her sneakers, Remy didn't feel so certain. The conversation with Phase had left a sour taste in her mouth and she secretly wondered if he was right. The cases she had purchased from Travis still sat near the living room window sill.

Remy had been purchasing military grade weapons for quite some time now. It was almost, well, a habit to reach for her real gun first instead of her tranq darts. Remy shook her head, deciding that her recent bout of reflectiveness was due to the mixture of pot smoke and alcohol running through her blood, _not _the sudden appearance of an over-zealous conscience.

She picked up the cases and carried them into the bedroom where she slid them underneath the bed. Feeling too tired to turn on the lights, she felt around for the familiar drop off in the center of the floor. She pushed the cases in and they landed with a thud.

Satisfied, Remy got off the floor and opened her middle dresser drawer where she kept her extra cell phones. She activated a new one and reset the time to match her bedside clock. Three-thirty seven, the clock now read. Remy had basically another two hours before she had to be up and dressed, ready for work.

_No point in going to sleep now, _she decided, trading out her party clothes for her yoga pants and stretchy halter.

As she finished pulling on her top, the sound of a window creaking and a resounding thud reached her ears. With her heart in her throat, she sprinted out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.

Lying on the kitchen table, bound and gagged was a man dressed in black. She didn't recognize the face, but the rare blue flower pinned to his shirt—a flower that Remy knew grew only in the mountains of Tibet—gave his identity away.

Phase—the only active League of Shadows member in California—was lying bound and gagged on her kitchen table.

Her shock was the only thing preventing her from noticing the silent presence stepping up behind her. She felt the cool metal of a knife slide along the front of her throat.

"Don't move."


	3. Suspicion

Author's Note: Hi there! Sorry for those of you who have been waiting for this chapter. I just couldn't seem to get it right no matter how many times I scrapped it and started over again. I've been super busy with this role I landed in a musical and school and everything else that's been going on. In this chapter: finally a visit from a Young Justice character. There isn't really too much action, but it's kind of a set up for the next chapter, which is where- providing the characters behave- the important storyline begins. Anyways, if you guys like the chapter I would really appreciate reviews. If you totally hate, that's fine too, and I would love to hear why. On a separate note, I would just like to acknowledge the tragedy that has befallen Japan. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice. Remy Vanderbilt is my own character.

Chapter Three: Suspicion

Any idiot knew it was stupid to move when an assailant was holding a knife to your throat. Remy Vanderbilt, however, wasn't an idiot. She told herself to stay calm, that she could easily get out of this unscathed.

"I don't have a lot of time," her assailant snapped. Remy identified that the voice as obviously male. "So I'll cut to the chase. Why were you meeting with an operative from the League of Shadows?"

Remy remained silent, waiting for the man to relax his stance. At least a minute went by and when the man didn't release his vice grip on Remy's lower body or lower the knife, Remy started to consider whether or not she was strong enough to break his hold. Remy's only real advantage was her uncanny speed, and being trapped by a man twice her size made it significantly harder to run.

"Explain or I'll break one of your ribs." As if to make his point, her attacker slid his arm up her stomach to her bottom rib and began applying a _very _uncomfortable amount of pressure. Remy knew he wasn't bluffing as she felt the tip of her rib start to press into her lung.

Remy said nothing, instead focusing on breathing in and out. When her attacker realized she wasn't going to say anything he pulled his arm up more and Remy could feel her rib beginning to be pulled out of place.

"Ready to talk?" He asked lightly.

Remy's voice was shallow when she answered but the message was clear. "Fuck you."

He pulled harder and in her mind, Remy could practically hear her rib cracking. "I can stop _whenever _you want me to."

Remy couldn't help the small cry of pain that escaped her lips. "You put me down and I'll talk!"

Her attacker seemed to consider this for a moment. "I'll lower the knife."

"Fine," she said gruffly, "but do it now." Surprisingly, the man did as she said and Remy felt the blade skirt off of her exposed neck. "On the floor."

The sound of the blade clattering hit the floor and Remy decided to take this opportunity to escape. In a rapid fire sequence, she fired her elbows back into her attacker, stunning him momentarily. She twisted around and kicked the back of his knee, momentarily relishing in this small victory as he dropped to the floor. She was about to strike again when she caught sight of his face.

She was looking at the very well-known sidekick of Green Arrow, otherwise known as Speedy. "Speedy?"

Taking advantage of Remy's loss of concentration, Speedy recovered and quickly took hold of her arm, twisting it behind her and pinning her to the counter with his body.

"It's Red Arrow now," he growled. "Now no more bullshit. Talk." As if to make his point, he ground Remy's face into the hard marble of her kitchen counter.

"I don't know what you're expecting to gain from beating up a civilian," Remy snapped. "I don't even know what the League of Shadows is!"

"Oh yeah? Then why did that guy—" Remy assumed he was pointing at Phase—"hand you a file?"

"What file?" Remy countered without missing a beat. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"You know damn well what file I'm talking about. You were at Jump City Regional Park tonight, yes? And _don't _lie to me." He twisted her arm back slightly and Remy struggled to control her rising hear rate. She did not need a panic attack right now.

Anymore twisting and pulling, however, and she'd need a meta human to put her bones back in place.

"I was there," she conceded angrily. "But I was just taking a break from this party I was at. Ask anyone who knows me."

"How do you explain the file?" He demanded.

"There is no file, you ass!" Remy practically shouted.

"Well, we'll see about that. I don't care if I have to ransack this entire apartment!" He threatened.

He released his hold on her and immediately headed for Remy's bedroom. She jogged after him, rubbing her sore arm as she went. Red Arrow was tearing through her dresser drawers, through her delicates, her t-shirts, her jeans, _everything._ Her bras were cluttering the floor as well as the rest of her clothes.

"I have nothing to hide," she fumed, "and even if I did, you wouldn't find it in my _dresser._ So if you could—? _Please_ leave!"

He stopped his search for a moment and looked down his nose at her. "If you have nothing to hide then I'm sure you won't mind me going through your things."

"It's _my _stuff, jackass and I do mind!" Remy sneered, stalking over to the dresser. She bent down to pick up a few of her t-shirts, hastily folding them and putting them back in the drawer. "Oh and I'm pretty sure that it's illegal for you to be ransacking my apartment with no search warrant."

"You actually think I care?" He snorted, walking over to Remy's computer desk. He opened and closed all the doors, unsatisfied at the lack of anything incriminating. "I do what I want now."

"I've always heard you were smart, _Speedy_," Remy sneered. "I wonder what the citizens of Star City will think when they find out that one of their beloved _heroes_ broke into a woman's apartment and assaulted her. The press will have a field day."

He let out a growl of frustration and knocked her lamp off her desk. "Dammit!"

"Get out of my apartment," Remy ordered. "You can come back when you have a search warrant. _If _you can even get one."

He pointed a finger directly in Remy's face and loomed over her menacingly. "It's a good thing you're smart. I may not be able to touch you _now_, but whatever it is that you're hiding won't stay buried forever. Your buddy lying face down in the kitchen learned that the hard way."  
The two glared at each other, both of them too stubborn to consider backing down first. After about thirty seconds, however, Remy looked away. _It is way too late to be doing this,_ she decided.

She put her hand on his chest and started pushing him out of her bedroom. "Hey, you—"

"Let me guess," Remy spat, interrupting him, "this is the part where you insert another cryptic threat and give me the 'I'll be watching you' speech." She backed him up against the wall and pulled open the front door. "You can save it because, honestly? I could care less."

Ignoring the appalled look on Red Arrow's face, Remy gave him one last shove and slammed the door, locking it behind her. She glanced at the kitchen counter where Phase's lifeless body now lay.

A part of her was relieved that he was dead. He had been her torturer, her handler, her enemy. Now, he was gone and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of Remy's shoulders. Another part of her, though, was very scared.

Red Arrow had _killed _Phase and now Remy was on his radar. Would he resort to killing her too? She ascertained that she had to be more careful. She couldn't simply get into Travis' car and buy military grade weapons anymore. That was generally a big red flag. Remy figured that she should probably find another apartment to hide her weapons as well.

Her racing heart slowed to a normal pace as she took a few deep breaths. Remy reassured herself that she would be fine. Red Arrow was a hero and Phase was a criminal. _He _deserved to die; she—for the most part—didn't deserve an untimely death.

Though, she _had_ always wondered what it would feel like to be on somebody's blacklist. Now she knew the feeling that, perhaps, every single one of her targets had known before she had ended them.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

* * *

After teaching her six am Bikram yoga class, Remy had a couple hour break before she had to teach another class. She had brought the case file with her, tucked safely away in her gym bag. Red Arrow's early morning visit had perturbed Remy enough for her to think it necessary to bring the file along.

Speaking of Red Arrow's visit, Remy knew that she would have to come up with a plan to get rid of Phase's body. She had haphazardly shoved him into her closet and covered him with some dirty clothes, but pretty soon the body would start to give off an awful stench. Remy knew that if Red Arrow returned with a search warrant and a battalion of police officers, she would be blamed for the murder of Phase.

Going to prison was _not _on her to-do list.

She grabbed a steaming cup of chai tea from the Shakti spiritual center's kitchen and searched for a secluded place to sit. The private lounge designated for the teaching staff seemed a good enough place.

With no one in sight, Remy plopped into one of the chairs, sipped her tea and pulled out the file. She was greeted with the image of a handsome man with a broad, square jaw and slicked back blonde hair. He had a large nose and muddy brown eyes, but there was a certain charisma that shone through his boyish grin.

Remy sighed and pushed her hair back from her face as she read his stats. His name was Anthony Hodgkins and he was only twenty-nine years old. Remy wasn't sure how this guy had pissed off the League of Shadows, but it usually only took one offense to do so. She briefly skimmed the parts about his childhood and college years.

By the time she finished reading his personality profile, Remy wasn't sure she understood why she had been asked to kill this man. He lived in Gotham city and was running against Harvey Dent for district attorney. She read that he was currently on a prescription for chronic insomnia and for anxiety, but that wasn't too of the ordinary.

Surveillance missions that were recorded by the League of Shadows operative designated to, well, _shadow_ Anthony Hodgkins were extremely ordinary for a man of his age. He had a serious girlfriend of five years named Stephanie and they lived together on the West side of Gotham. He was known around town as "the guy next door" and "a friend to all."

_Oh wait,_ Remy thought, _those are just his campaign slogans._ Either way, Hodgkins didn't have a criminal record and didn't seem to have his hands in any dirty pockets so to speak. Remy glanced down at her instructions which detailed a charity fundraiser he was hosting at the Four Seasons in Gotham next weekend.

At the back of the folder, the building layout and the security plans were drawn out for her as well as a driver's license. It wasn't a picture of Remy, instead showing a picture of a book-wormish young woman with mousy brown hair and glasses. Marilyn Hopkins, age 26, also a resident of Gotham City.

Remy's task was plainly written in italics across the bottom of the page.

_Assume the identity of Marilyn Hopkins, age 26, a well-known political zealot. Infiltrate the Hodgkins Fund Charity Ball and eliminate Anthony Hodgkins. Shoot to kill at point blank range. Leave driver's license and the weapon at the scene of the crime. Security systems will have already been shut down for a small period of time. Forensics on the gun will reveal that Hopkins was the murderer. Escape in the midst of the chaos and avoid detection at all costs._

Remy shut the file, deciding she would reread it later to make sure she had the specifics. When it came to jobs like this, Remy knew that every step had to be done just the way the Shadows said it should be done. Otherwise, Remy would find herself caught at the crime scene with no one to blame but herself.

She ran a shaky hand through her hair, finished off her tea and shoved the file back into her bag. She had a couple more classes to teach before she could leave, and then she could book her flight to Gotham City and take care of Phase's body.

As long as she had a plan, Remy could relax.


	4. Old Friends and New Ones

Authors Note: Hi guys! I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, and thank you to all of you who took the time to review! I really appreciate the fact that you guys take the time to do it and I hope you know how much it means to me. Anyways, this chapter didn't turn out quite as I expected it to... I _had_ meant for Bruce Wayne to make an appearance... but I kind of got caught up in revealing a bit more of Remy's past. Hope you guys like the chapter! XO Noelle

Chapter Four: Old Friends and New Ones

The flight to Gotham had been tedious and had tried Remy's already thin patience. She had sat next to a very _large_ man that had bought the other two plane seats in their row just so he could have enough room. Unfortunately, two seats weren't enough; he had encroached upon Remy's personal space for the entire flight as well.

If the wasn't enough of a struggle, the drive to the Holiday Inn just outside of the city had been long, the traffic had been terrible, and on top of it all, it had started pouring buckets of rain the minute Remy stepped out of the cab. The hotel looked seedy and Remy pictured cockroaches living beneath the pillows.

She contemplated sleeping on the floor for a brief moment in time as she slipped the key card into its slot near the door handle.

Remy, now feeling soaked to the bone and freezing, entered into her dinky hotel room and flopped onto the bed. The room smelled like feet and the blanket was scratchy, nothing like the soft polyester quilt waiting for her back at home.

Remy groaned, realizing how stuck up she sounded. Visiting Gotham always put a strain on Remy's mind.

There was too much history here. _Her _history to be exact.

Nevertheless, Remy felt the need to tie up a few loose ends since she was here for the weekend.

* * *

The doors to St. Augustine's Church were open and the chapel was filled with people, listening intently to the sermon being given by Father Lawrence. The elaborate candelabras lining the walls served as the only light and cast an eerie glow on all of the attendees. The painting of the Virgin Mary still hung next to the elaborate bronze cross set just behind the pulpit and the collection plate still sat next to the bread and wine.

It was almost as if Remy had never even left.

She unbuttoned her black pea coat as she slid into the pew farthest away from Father Lawrence. Remy had at first been hesitant to return to the church where she had spent most of her youth, however to get what she needed, she would have to speak with Father Lawrence. It _was_ Friday night, but there was always a sermon being held at St. Augustine's Catholic Church. Remy was right in her belief that Father Lawrence would be there.

As Father Lawrence expounded upon the cardinal sin of wrath, Remy listened, but didn't truly hear him. Instead, she stared at the painting of the Virgin Mary, ignoring the curious gazes directed her way from others in the congregation.

She was sure that some of them recognized her; until last year she and her family had gone to church every Sunday. Unable to resist the urge to look around, Remy saw numerous familiar faces. The Thompsons sat—as they always had—in the very front pew, all of them listening intently, save for Jason, the middle son. He had always had a penchant for trouble making, and at ten, he hadn't seen the point in going to church. Luke Byron and his girlfriend Lara, still together, as far as Remy could tell, sat close to each other just a few rows ahead of her. The Gleason family—fair weather friends at best, Laura Inglewire—the crazy cat lady, Sam Reynolds—the resident Goth, all of them were just the way Remy remembered them.

Remy ignored the collection plate as it was passed around and she didn't take communion as the rest of them lined up to do so. This garnered Father Lawrence's attention, who—for the first time since she had been there—made eye contact. He looked surprised and Remy could understand that. She imagined it was much like seeing a ghost.

Remy waited until the sermon was over and walked to the pulpit, waving slightly to those who acknowledged her. Father Lawrence was speaking to Lydia Whitlock—the resident snob of the congregation—who looked at Remy as if she were the flesh embodiment of Satan himself.

"Well thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention Lydia," Father Lawrence patted her on the hand, looking at Remy, "I'll see if I can work any of your suggestions in for next week's sermon. I'll see you on Sunday."

With that, he gave her a light nudge and sent her on her way. Though not before she could shoot Remy another very unchristian glare.

"It was nice seeing you too, Lydia," Remy muttered, rolling her eyes. She blew out a sigh and turned her attention back to Father Lawrence. "Father Lawrence."

"Remy Vanderbilt." He reached a wrinkled hand out and grasped Remy's smoother and much slighter one. "It's good to see you. How is California?"

"Sunny," she commented, releasing his hand. "Father, I actually was hoping that you could take me to my dad's casket. I wanted to, um, pay my respects."

"Certainly Remy," he nodded approvingly. "If you'll follow me…"

* * *

As Father Lawrence opened her father's casket, Remy braced herself for the horrible smell that was sure to come. He slid the lid open and even though Remy had a hand over her mouth, it didn't stop the smell from getting through to her nostrils. The decaying body of her father lay just the way it had when he had been buried. His arms were crossed over his chest and his legs were stretched out; it looked like he was sleeping.

Remy hadn't attended the funeral as she had never been good with goodbyes. She hadn't _wanted _to say goodbye to the one person she had looked up to for her entire life. That would mean actually accepting that he was gone.

Now, seeing the dead body of her father, Lane Vanderbilt, didn't affect Remy the way she thought it would. There was no fanfare, like in the movies, and she didn't leave a flower or shed any tears. She simply opened up her father's hand and took out the small gold chain wrapped in his fingers.

"You can close it," Remy told him.

Father Lawrence looked somewhat alarmed, his bushy grey eyebrows furrowing, but did as Remy said.

"Would you mind staying for a moment Remy?" Father Lawrence asked. "I'd like to speak with you."

"Sure," she shrugged. All she really had to do was visit the Gotham Ritz to scout out the security to make sure she had the plans memorized. It was a task better suited for a late night jaunt anyhow.

The two made their way up the stairs and out of the basement of St. Augustine's, Father Lawrence locking the door behind them. Remy followed Father Lawrence into his office, the door of which was not too far from the basement door.

Upon entering his office, Father Lawrence gestured for Remy to sit in the chair across from his desk. She slid in and set her purse on the floor next to her feet. "What is it that you'd like to speak to me about, Father?"

Father Lawrence interlaced his fingers and sat forward, leaning his elbows on his desk. "How long are you here for?"

"Just this weekend. Why?"

Father Lawrence sighed as he studied Remy with his dark brown eyes. She remained cool and collected under his scrutiny, but she wondered why he felt the need to study her so closely. As far as he knew, Remy was just an average sixteen year old girl.

"Remy, I've known you since you were a small girl. I watched you grow into a young woman. I—"

Remy groaned internally. They were _so _not going to have this conversation right now. "Sorry, Father Lawrence, but I'm kind of in a hurry—" Remy gripped the handles on her purse and started to stand up.

"Please, this will only take a moment," he pleaded. Remy slowly slid her butt back down into the chair, but didn't release her grip on the purse. "Your sudden reappearance in my congregation gives me hope, Remington."

"Father—" she bristled at the use of her full name.

"Don't interrupt me please," he said seriously. "Have you found a suitable church where you spend your time on Sundays?"

"Father Lawrence, with all due respect, I've kind of given up on the whole religion thing," Remy sighed. "I spend Sundays at a spiritual wellness center."

"Spiritual wellness?" He seemed confused and, well, quite appalled.

"A yoga studio," Remy told him, folding her hands into her lap. "Church was always more of my parent's thing and God hasn't exactly given me a helping hand lately."

"That doesn't mean that you should give up, Remington," Father Lawrence said. "God has a plan for you and in time it _will _come to fruition."

Remy repressed the groan that was bubbling up in her throat. "I don't have time to wait around for God's plan, Father Lawrence." Remy stood up, shouldered her bag and started to make her exit. She heard Father Lawrence heave a heavy sigh and she felt a slight twinge of guilt. After all, this man had been good to her throughout her entire childhood.

"Remy before you go," he called and she stopped and turned to listen to him, "I hope you realize that I say this because I am concerned for your well-being. There is something different in your eyes, that was not there before." He paused to insert a meaningful glance which Remy chose to ignore. "Just know that there is always a place for you in my congregation. Should you feel the need to talk to anyone-"

"You mean confess," Remy scoffed.

"—then you should also know that my door is always open," he finished, gesturing at the office around him. She turned to go, deciding that she had had enough of her past for one day. She had gotten the necklace and now she could go. "Be safe, Remy."

She started, turning her head slightly to study Father Lawrence. _Did he know what she was planning to do? _Remy shook her head and closed his office door behind her. She was being ridiculous, paranoid.

But had he really read her that easily? _There's something different in your eyes, _she repeated it to herself, _that was not there before.

* * *

_

The Gotham Ritz Carlton was a sight to behold on the eve of the Hodgkin's Fund Charity Ball. The main ballroom was lit up by numerous glistening chandeliers, each of them shining like a single star of light. Together, they made up a galaxy and shone brilliantly down onto the faces of Gotham's wealthy and elite. Tables with elaborate ice sculptures and golden table cloths ringed the exterior of the ballroom, leaving the middle of the room available for dancing. A small string quartet played to the right of the head honcho's table.

Remy was, frankly, bored and slightly put off by the elegance of it all. The Hodgkin's fund was supposedly created to help educate and find jobs for homeless people. This was a _charity _ball, and here they had probably spent thousands on the room set up alone. It was ironic that most of the attendees probably didn't even realize the hypocrisy of it.

Nevertheless, Remy tried to focus on her job and _not_ the party. She could feel the barrel of her gun strapped to her leg by the lace garter underneath her silky black dress. It felt hot against her leg and she felt as if every person around her that gave her a second look knew about it. She had never been this anxious on a job before.

She was of course, being completely ridiculous, and Remy knew that she had no tangible reason to be nervous. She had on her blonde wig, a pair of obnoxious glasses and her driver's license packed away in her clutch. She would shoot Hodgkins, leave the bag and get out in no time at all. This would be a piece of cake compared to some of the other hit jobs she'd pulled off.

Well, it would be a piece of cake once she could actually get to Anthony Hodgkins. He was currently holed up behind a huge wall of security as he stuffed his face with the lobster thermidor. Remy assumed that once he finished eating and traipsed onto the dance floor, she would have a clear shot at him.

"May I have this dance?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a young man in his early twenties. His New York accent bordered on annoying and his manner appeared arrogant. He was handsome and maybe if Remy had actually been a guest at this party, she would've given him the time of day.

"Sorry," she said shortly, dismissing him with a wave of her hand, "my dance card is full tonight."

He smiled slyly. "Let me ask again, Roulette," he ground out the name between his teeth, "may I have this dance?"

Remy stared up at him, studying him curiously. "Are you my new contact?"

He shushed her and pulled Remy to her feet, guiding her out onto the dance floor. "You should be more careful when you're in public, _Marilyn. _Phase wasn't and now he's paid for his mistakes." The man ran grasped her hand in his and slid his hand around her waist and dangerously close to her backside.

"Red Arrow killed Phase," Remy hissed, her hand tightening like a vise around his. "I had nothing to do with it. And watch where you're putting your hands!"

"I never said you did," he said, chuckling, spinning her out and pulling her back into his arms. Remy let out a frustrated sigh. She _hated _all of this cryptic bullshit. "Try to put on a smile, Marilyn, we'll look like we're having a lovers quarrel."

"A lovers quarrel? Who the hell are you anyway?" She demanded.

"My name is Ares and that's all you need to know," he assured her. "Now if you'll look past my shoulder, you'll realize that Mr. Hodgkins is now greeting his guests. Perhaps you should go and discuss politics with him. I'm sure he'd be glad to meet a fellow activist."

Remy moved her lips closer to Ares' ear and she glanced up at Hodgkins. Sure enough, his security team had instead fanned out around the ball room. Hodgkins was currently talkingto the mayor and his wife, gesturing animatedly with his hands. "I'll go now."

"One last thing," Ares said, as he made Remy dip, "the security cameras have already been taken care of. You have approximately seven minutes before our program is discovered in their system. I'll have a car waiting for you at seventh and Lexington. Make it quick."

Ares released her, leaving Remy alone on the dance floor with nothing to do but her job.


	5. A Helping Hand

Authors Note: Hi there! Here's the next chapter and as promised… some Bruce Wayne! Sort of anyways (: This chapter just kind of came to me and got spit out onto my computer if that makes any sense so I'd love to hear what you guys think. Thank you so much to all of you who continue to review, I soooo appreciate it. But to those of you who hate my story—at least I hope at least one of you does (;- please, please, please review and tell me why. I promise I don't mind constructive criticism.

Anyways, enjoy! And there will be actual Young Justice interaction—besides Roy—in the next chapter. Promise (:

Chapter Five: A Helping Hand

Killing someone—doing it well, at least—took focus and control. Remy had learned that you couldn't simply flail about with a gun, take aim and fire. With the advances in modern medicine, anyone could survive a gunshot. Precision was the ultimate key to success.

Without a doubt, Remy was a skilled assassin, but there was no room for error when you worked for the Shadows. Remy couldn't afford to take the chance that Anthony Hodgkins would live.

Remy had heard of other operatives being killed for failing a mission, but then again, those were just rumors. Echoes and whispers swept along through the clandestine web of communication Phase had exposed her to.

_She _had _never _failed an assignment before, but she didn't care to test the theory. Remy reminded herself of the consequences of failure as she made her way through the crowded ballroom. To Remy, it seemed as if the crowds of Gotham's wealthy were equivalent to that of a full day of walking in knee-deep mud.

Remy could feel her gun, tucked inside her garter, cool against the inside of her thigh. She reached down, pretending to smooth out her dress, and felt the familiar indent of the trigger. It made her focus, reminded her of what had to be done.

Her mind cleared and she took herself to a place that was as close to Zen as was humanly possible. Her thoughts and emotions disappeared like a puff of smoke drifting out of the chimney. There was pure silence and peace inside of Remy and she no longer felt nervous. _This _was something she knew how to do. She pushed her way through the throngs of people until Hodkgins was only about ten feet away. In that singular moment, there was Remy, Hodgkins, and her gun.

Once she was in range, she saw something that stopped her cold.

A young woman—early twenties—was standing next to Anthony. She was beautiful, with cascading black hair and strikingly blue eyes, but there was something off with the way that she stood. Remy realized, with a shock, that it was because the woman was pregnant. One of the woman's arms encircled her belly and the other was firmly planted in Anthony's hand.

Remy faltered slightly and glanced around, looking for Ares. She shook her head, knowing that he would be gone. He would be wondering why it was taking her so long. She turned back to the woman and noticed the white diamond on her left hand.

Remy felt sick to her stomach. They were going to make her kill a man who was engaged with a baby on the way? Remy felt guilt begin to wrench itself into her body. Her hands began to shake but she told herself to calm down.

_It's kill or be killed, _she reminded herself, taking a few deep breaths. _Survival of the fittest._ _Kill or be killed, kill or be killed, kill or be killed. _She repeated it to herself like a mantra.

Remy walked forward, as the woman disengaged from Hodgkins. _Perfect, _Remy thought. At least she wouldn't have to kill the baby's father in front of the mother. He smiled at the woman once more before turning back to his conversation.

This offered Remy some slight astringent to her raging guilt, and allowed her to take the last few steps towards Anthony Hodgkins.

He smiled when he saw her. "Well, hello there. I'm so glad you could make it tonight. On behalf of everyone at the Hodgkins Foundation, I—"

Before he could even finish his statement, Remy had fired the gun straight into his forehead. Horrified screams and confused shouts echoed throughout the room, but Remy didn't hang around to wait for everyone to realize she had just shot a public figure. She dropped the purse and the gun and ran for it, kicking off her heels in the process.

* * *

By the time Remy had been able to book it down the side alleys of Gotham, she had already dropped her wig, broken the glasses and torn her dress. She received a few strange looks from some other people out for a late night stroll, but no one seemed to think she was suspicious looking.

She didn't have much to worry about unless she came across a couple of cops. Either way, most of Gotham's finest would be too busy holding everyone at the charity ball for questioning to be out patrolling the streets.

Remy was still a few blocks away from seventh street—where she would meet Ares—when a black car came speeding at her. Remy noticed that there were no plates on the car and that the windows were tinted so darkly that it was impossible to see inside. It screeched to a halt right in front of her and before she could react, she was yanked inside.

The grip on her arm was tight as she flailed about, trying to break her abductors hold. When she realized it was making no difference, however, she stopped. She turned to glance at the person who had taken her.

Remy almost choked on her tongue as she felt the car lurch beneath her, springing into motion.

She was shocked to find the Dark Knight glaring down at her. Remy was surprised to find that he we even more intimidating in person than she had heard. She had heard rumors of his "bat glare" and of his masterful use of stealth. She knew him to be a master of martial arts, far more skilled than Remy could ever hope to be. She had to admit that his tall and muscular frame was impressive and even though Remy was used to being smaller than most people, she thought that Batman was particularly extraordinary.

"Evening Remy." His voice was low and gravelly, like the sound of car hitting the dusty rocks in the pavement. Remy guessed it was to disguise his real voice. Assuming, that Batman had a civilian life in the first place.

_That's just pure prejudice, _Remy thought ironically, _but probably true._

He seemed more like the soulless, workaholic that enjoyed fighting crime twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

She cleared her throat and scooted to the far edge of the seat, putting as much distance in between herself and the dark knight as possible. "Evening."

The driver up front seemed completely oblivious to the exchanges being made.

The Batman swept his eyes over Remy's entire body twice and finally landed back at her eyes. "Your shorter than I expected you'd be."

"Thanks," Remy said acidly. "You're creepier than—no wait your just plain creepy."

He smirked and folded his arms. "You can relax. I'm not going to turn you in for the murder of Anthony Hodgkins."

Remy started, feeling her throat close but she recovered quickly, masking her nerves with a smooth expression. "You shouldn't accuse someone of something unless you have proof."

"Believe me," he said flatly. "I have more than enough proof of your ventures with the League of Shadows to lock you away in prison for the rest of your life."

Remy raised her eyebrows, feigning disinterest. "I'm not exactly clear on what you mean by that. Or the reason you've abducted me."

"It's not an abduction," he stated. "I'm driving you to your hotel."

Remy scoffed, folded her arms and managed to throw Batman a scathing look. _This is completely ridiculous, _Remy mentally growled. Sure, she was now dealing with the Batman, but Remy was confident in her ability to handle anything that came her way.

Batman reached down underneath the seat and pulled out a computer. He opened up the screen and clicked on a few files. "Search through those pictures and see what you find. The last one is a video."

Remy cautiously took the computer from his hands and set it onto her lap. She clicked through the images he had pulled up onto the screen. The first few were pictures of Remy sitting alone at the lunch table at school. The images then shifted into pictures of her meeting with Travis. Purchasing illegal weapons. Another picture of Remy outside of a club showed up; she was dragging a body towards the dumpster. Remy holding a gun to a well-known celebrities head. Remy breaking and entering into a jewelry store.

Remy, Remy, Remy… all of these pictures were of her either looking suspicious, doing something illegal or actually killing someone.

"You forgot the video," Batman reminded her, breaking through the thoughts swirling around in her head.

Remy looked up at him, alarmed and unsettled as she pushed play. The sound of a string quartet could be heard and Remy—dressed in a blonde wig and ugly glasses—was marching straight towards Anthony Hodgkins.

"How did you get this?" Remy demanded, slamming the cover down on the laptop. "The cameras were shorted out."

"Trade secret," the Batman explained, taking the laptop from her. He replaced it under the seat and turned to simply stare at her.

"Alright, so you've got dirt on me," Remy allowed. "Now what are you going to do with it?"

"The way I see it, Roulette—"

Remy was baffled. _How _could he possibly know that name? "How—"

"I looked under your bed," Batman said flatly. "It wasn't that hard to figure out that the combination that opens the hatch was the day your father died. I saw the costume, your _tools_ your case files, everything."

Remy stared at him, taking care to keep a calm and even-keeled demeanor about her. "Listen here, asshole. Just because you have evidence against me doesn't mean that it's actually admissible in court."

"Of course it wouldn't be," Batman said, unfazed by Remy's steely tone. "But I have friends in high places. Friends who wouldn't think twice about throwing you into jail. No trial."

Remy huffed. "Seems like I don't have a choice here."

"You do," Batman assured her. "One of your options just leads to prison. The other one, not so much."

"Well, what is it?" Remy demanded.

"I've compiled a team of young up and coming heroes," he explained, watching for Remy's reaction. "They're a strictly covert team which is why you'd fit right in. They need a good lesson on how to operate on the sly."

"What makes you think I'd be able to help them? I'm working for the League of Shadows," Remy said flatly. "I'm a murderer and a criminal."

"As much as I know you'd like me to believe that, we both know it's not completely true."

"You don't know me," Remy spat out acidly.

"I've watched you for an entire year, Roulette. I've seen you kill in cold blood, but I've also seen you help civilians." Remy turned her head out the window and studied the buildings outside, ignoring the penetrating look that Batman was giving her. "You started out with good intentions. You wanted to help people, like you father—"

"Don't," Remy held up a hand, "bring my father into this. He was a real hero, maybe not one with superpowers, but he saved people every day."

"I realize that," Batman said. "But with my help you _can _be the hero that I know you've always wanted to be. The first step is joining my team. I can open doors for you."

Remy swiveled her head around to look at Batman and she studied him closely as the black car stopped. His face bore no emotion, despite the literal "get out of jail free card" he had just offered her. She considered her options, jail or joining some stupid team. Of course the third option of the League of Shadows eliminating her for a double cross was also in the back of her mind.

He interrupted her silence to add, "I know talent when I see it. You help me, I'll help you."

Remy ignored this as she wondered at how the Shadows would off her. Poison, gunshot to the temple, making it look like a simple mugging? Somehow, Remy decided not to care about the last, death ridden option. She was through with being controlled by the mysterious organization. "So what if I did want to join your team. The Shadows won't let me go very easily."

"I've dealt with this situation before with another member of the team," Batman assured her. "It _will_ work to our advantage."

Remy looked out the window, realizing that they were now at her hotel. "How do I, uh, contact you or whatever?" She pushed the handle on the door open and paused waiting for his reply.

He pulled out a slip of paper attached to a small silver key and handed it to her. "I'm relocating you to Star City at this address. Green Arrow and Black Canary both operate out of the city so if anything were to go wrong, they'd be within calling distance. I'll contact you soon. In the meantime, your contact is waiting for you."

He gestured to her hotel room where the light was already on. The shadowed figure of a man—definitely Ares—was silhouetted in the window, staring down at them.

"What do I say to him?" She asked, pocketing the slip address and the key.

"That's up to you," Batman stated. He paused to insert a meaningful look at Remy. "Don't be so quick to sever ties. As I said, this _will _work to our advantage."

With that, the Dark Knight reached over and pulled the door shut. The car sped away and Remy was left feeling more confused than ever. Was Batman saying that she would act as a double agent? Remy thought that that was what he had been insinuating, but she could've misread.

Nonetheless, as Remy climbed the stairs to her hotel room, she felt more afraid than she had ever been. Deep inside, however, a glimmer of hope chiseled away at the hard interior of Remy Vanderbilt.


	6. Hi There, Neighbor!

Authors Note: A short chapter unfortunately, but a little bit of someone we all know and love in this one ;) Anyways sorry for those of you who waited for this. Enjoy and as always reviews are very much appreciated!

Chapter Six: Hi There, Neighbor!

Ares was waiting for her when she entered into her hotel room. He was seated at her desk, looking through some files on her laptop.

"Ever heard of privacy?" Remy snapped. He didn't look up. "Did you learn your manners in a barn or something?"

"I hadn't realized you were a Yoga guru," Ares smiled wryly, gesturing to some of her ebooks on the desktop screen.

Remy grimaced and reached for her suitcase, pulling out her nightshirt along with her toothbrush and face soap. She didn't want to deal with Ares right now, she _wanted _to go to sleep. Her thoughts were spinning with what-ifs and she just wanted to shut off her brain.

"Do you mind?" Remy asked, gesturing towards the door.

"No, go ahead," he said easily, leaning back in the chair.

Remy groaned and walked into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. Ares' footsteps resounded loudly on the cheap flowers as he came to stand outside the bathroom. She pulled off her dress—or what was left of it anyways—and replaced it with her nightshirt. When she got out, Ares was leaning against the bathroom sink.

Remy ignored him and turned on the sink water, slapping some paste on her toothbrush and running it under the sink. She turned to him as she began to scrub her pearly whites.

"I see that you had some help getting back here." Remy shrugged, feigning disinterest. "From Batman."

"So?" she said after rinsing out her mouth.

"I'm assuming he offered you a way out, a way to escape the Shadows," he mused. "A way to finally be the hero you've _always _wanted to be."

Remy turned to look at Ares. "He did actually. But first of all, I'm not stupid, and second, I'm not interested in playing sidekick to a bunch of egotistical blowhards."

"You have quite the way with words, Remy," Ares snorted, "however, we have an opportunity to take down the League from the inside out if you accept his offer. Serve as a double agent and help the Shadows take down the Justice League. You'll be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "I know where my loyalties lie."

_Not a total lie, _Remy thought to herself. As long as she didn't say anything to obtrusive, she could make it through this conversation unscathed.

Ares scrutinized her for a moment and Remy knew he was checking for any nervousness in her eyes, shaking of the hands. "Very well."

Remy knew she didn't have anything to worry about. She was as good a liar as you could be.

"He wants to relocate me to Star City," Remy informed Ares.

"Logical," Ares mused. "After all, Green Arrow and Black Canary operate out of the city. They'll be able to keep tabs on you. Which means—"

"Which means you'll have to be careful in contacting me," Remy finished his thought.

Ares nodded and pushed back his hair as Remy shoved her things in the drawer and went to sit on the hotel bed. Hair tie in hand, she started the process of braiding her hair. Ares took a seat across from Remy in the chair next to the computer desk. Absentmindedly, he stroked his chin and the little bit of stubble that graced it.

"This is weird," she said suddenly to Ares. "I'd never even seen Phase's face until he died. And now, you're a brand spanking new contact and I've seen every bit of you."

"_Every _bit of me?" He smirked.

"Not like that," she backtracked. "It's just odd that you're—"

"Trusting you?" He finished and Remy nodded. "Phase was an imbecile and a jackass. He also thought that he had status in the Shadows. His cockiness is what got him killed, Roulette. You were becoming too great an asset for him to handle."

"Really," Remy said, surveying Ares' expression for any signs of dishonesty. She concluded that he seemed serious.

"That's why I've been assigned as your new contact," Ares informed her standing up and walking over to her. She stood and mirrored his stance. "I won't be requiring weekly check ins. Instead, we'll have a permanent secure line and if you need to meet with me, or vice versa, we'll make it happen."

Remy was thoroughly surprised. The Shadows was releasing their grip on her? Remy couldn't fathom why. She had always been quite verbal about her displeasure at having to use her skills to murder. _Perhaps Ares doesn't care, _Remy mused to herself.

"Well then, I suppose I'll see you in Star City," Remy said.

"You can count on it," he smirked. He sauntered over towards the door and opened, but paused to turn and glance back at Remy. "We're giving you some freedom here Roulette. I would advise you not to abuse our trust."

With that, he slammed the door, leaving Remy alone in her hotel room.

* * *

The transition to Star City had been a fairly simple one for Remy. Ever since the death of her father, she had made it a point to not get too attached to people. It just made leaving so much easier. The only real connections to Jump City she had were at the Yoga studio where she worked.

Remy didn't consider Jenna an actual friend, merely a placeholder.

It had been easy enough to find another job at a studio in Star City that was conveniently located down the street from her apartment complex. Her school files had just been transferred to Franklin Prepatory and she had already gotten her entrance exams finished and out of the way. She had qualms about attending such a pricey school, however she had received a call from Batman just before she'd left Gotham, informing her that her apartment as well as her schooling would be taken care of by the Justice League.

Remy had spent most of her first day in Star City simply walking around and getting the lay of the land. She'd made sure that she knew where all the police stations were as well as the hospitals. She's found the school, stopped by the Yoga Summit and headed for the grocery store just three blocks away.

Now, as she pushed the key into her apartment door, she balanced the bags of groceries in her other arm, hoping that they wouldn't fall. Carefully Remy turned the lock and pocketed her key, reaching for the door knob.

"Here, let me help you with that."

"Ah!" Remy let out a shout of surprise as she dropped her groceries. She heard the sound of one of the soda cans popping open accompanied by the spraying fountain of root beer.

"Sorry about that," the guy who had startled her said. Remy looked up at him, struggling to keep the snarl off of her face. He looked familiar, she realized, although she couldn't exactly recall knowing _anyone _with flaming red hair like his.

"Don't worry about it," she said gruffly, grabbing the bags by the handles. The red head grabbed a few from her and gestured for her to go first inside the apartment. Remy glanced over her shoulder at him, making sure he wasn't a sexual predator trying to trap her in her apartment or something like that and set the groceries down on her granite kitchen counter.

It was definitely a step up from her old linoleum tile.

"I'm Roy Harper," the redhead said, reaching his hand out to Remy as soon as he had set the groceries down. "I live right across the hall from you."

Remy ignored it and nodded, opening the fridge. _Best not to get attached, even early on, _she reminded herself. She grabbed the eggs which were thankfully intact and loaded them into the fridge, following with orange juice and some yogurt. _This guy seems like a jackass anyways._

"What's yours?" Roy asked, giving her body the twice over and a suggestive wink.

"My what?" Remy raised her eyebrows. "Name?" He nodded. "Remy Vanderbilt. And just to make it clear. I won't sleep with you, I won't date you, and I won't really bother you unless you harass me. Got it?"

Roy looked slightly taken aback at her attitude but then he slowly smiled. "I had a feeling you'd be like this."

"Be like what?" Remy snapped. "You've known me for five seconds and in that time, you've already managed to annoy me. Congratulations."

"Just trying to be neighborly." Roy smirked. "I'm right next door if you need anything."

"Awesome," Remy muttered, rolling her eyes. "I'd invite you to stay for dinner, but well, I'm not interested in being your friend." Remy kicked the refrigerator door closed and glanced towards the door, hoping he'd get the hint.

"Alright," he shrugged, opening up the front door, "well when you're ready to have a taste of this—" he gestured to his body, which Remy had to admit was fairly muscular, "—just let me know."

"Buh-bye," Remy waggled her fingers and plastered on a fake smile. The door slammed shut and she turned back to her counter, thoroughly annoyed.

There was something so familiar about her neighbor's cockiness, something about the way he held himself. Remy searched around her kitchen drawers and found a cutting board and knife. She took a few of the vegetables out of her grocery bags and started chopping at a rapid pace.

_He's a nuisance, _Remy reminded herself, _something to be endured._

Remy secretly wondered how long it would take for Mr. Roy Harper to realize that she was completely uninterested and furthermore, unavailable. Working for the Shadows had been time consuming enough and now she had to work for the Justice League too? Remy knew that she would be busier than ever.

The Batman had arranged for Remy to meet her so-called teammates Friday morning at their headquarters. She didn't even know where it was located, she was just told to meet at Black Canary's apartment to be escorted there. Remy didn't like the idea of being blindly led somewhere by people she didn't personally know, but for now, she would have trust them.

They were helping her break free from the shadows, after all. Remy breathed out calmly before realizing that she had stopped chopping completely and that the carrots were still intact.

She dropped the knife and leaned onto her elbows, taking out the phone that Batman had used to contact her. She dialed the number he had given to her and instructed her to call. After the first few rings a woman picked up.

"Dinah Lance."

"Hi, I was instructed to call this number," Remy said uncertainly. "It's… Roulette."

"Oh!" Her voice was surprised. "I shoulda known you'd call, sister. We've got some ground to cover before you head up to Mount Justice to join the team."

"Right," Remy said. "This _is _Black Canary isn't it?"

"Better believe it," she said stiffly. "Now, how soon can you head over to my apartment. I need to go over some rules and we've got some work to do concerning your back story."

_Rules? Backstory? _Remy almost groaned. _More lies and secrets, even with the heroes._

"Are you still there? Or are you just going to breathe while I sit around and wait?" Canary demanded.

Remy glanced at the clock on the wall. "I can be there in five."


	7. Team? What a joke

Author's Note: Okay, so it's been a ridiculously long time since I even touched this story. I've just been super busy with school and my musical and other things. Not to mention that I recently started watching Supernatural and Chuck and Smallville. Plus, Young Justice hasn't been on, like, at all, so I kind of lost my fire to keep writing this story. This one is kind of short, so sorry for that! I just needed to get the juices flowing again. I am actually going to come out with a Supernatural story probably sometime in the next couple of days, so I hope you'll read it. Anyways, thanks so much to all of you who are still reading this and of course to all you wonderful reviewers!

Chapter Seven: Team? What a joke.

"This is Mount Justice?" Remy asked disdainfully.

"Yeah, kid," Black Canary answered. "Problem?"

Remy shook her head as Black Canary entered her access code into the outer door. The large metal doors slowly began to screech open as Remy rolled her eyes at the drama of it all. "I just figured that a covert team would be in a more… covert location."

"Batman chose the location," she informed Remy. "I trust his judgment, so should you."

"Right," Remy sighed, already hating the fact that being on this team, meant being controlled. Controlled by Batman, Black Canary, her team, and anyone else who thought that because she was 'sidekick' they could bite off a piece of her.

It was strangely ironic that she had always complained about being controlled by the League of Shadows and now that Ares was her new contact, it was no longer true. She didn't really feel suffocated by him as she had with Phase.

Remy immediately shook this thought off, knowing it was bull shit. Ares was probably still watching her as intently as Phase had. He was probably just more discreet about it.

As the Remy and her new "mentor" made their way into the halls of Mount Justice, Remy was beginning to feel more anxious about being a part of a team. After all, she hadn't even felt comfortable playing on a soccer team when she was six years old. She distinctly remembered getting kicked off the team after starting a fight with one of the other girls.

If she couldn't handle that in the prime of her youth, how could she expect herself to handle a crime fighting team as a headstrong teenager?

Remy and Black Canary came into a sort of lounge area that had a large u-shaped couch seated in front of a giant flat screen television. The "team" was assembled on the couch.

Black Canary cleared her throat. "Guys. I have someone I want you to meet."

Remy shoved her hands into the pockets of her black velour jacket and stared at the roused teenagers with a grim look on her face. A green Martian floated over from the kitchen and came to stand next to a tall standing black boy.

A black boy with gills, Remy realized, immediately casing him as Aqualad. Still seated on the couch was a short, black-haired boy—Robin no doubt—, a pretty blonde girl who looked strangely familiar to Remy, and of course Superboy. A red-haired ginger groggily rose from a position on the carpet. Kid Flash, Remy remembered from Dinah's briefing.

"This is them?" She muttered to Black Canary.

"Judgmental," Black Canary raised her eyebrows. "Interesting take on life, all things considered." Remy smiled at her fakely and rolled her eyes. "Guys this is—"

"Roulette. You can, however, call me Remy," Remy interrupted her. "I'm your new teammate."

This seemed to peak the interest of the Young Justice team. Black Canary glared at her. "Remy is my younger sister," she told the team, just as she and Remy had planned. "She's got a unique set of skills that Batman felt would be very helpful to you all."

"What sort of skills?" Artemis scoffed.

"Yeah, she looks like a cheerleader, not a superhero," Kid Flash laughed. Remy pointedly stared at the both of them and Kid Flash winked. "Relax gorgeous, I'm just joshin' ya."

The team stood in awkward silence as they stared at Remy.

"Oh joy," Remy said underneath her breath. She turned to Dinah. "I think I can handle introductions, sis."

Dinah reached forward to hug the younger girl. She turned her head towards Remy's ear and whispered, "Do anything stupid to blow your cover and there will be serious consequences."

Remy put in a fake laugh for good effect and released her hold on Black Canary. It was the very perfect picture of sisterly affection. Remy had to force herself to control her gag reflexes.

"I'll leave you to get acquainted," Black Canary told the team. "I'll see you tomorrow morning at 0600 for training."

With that, Black Canary exited the lounge, leaving Remy alone with her new team.

* * *

"Where did you come from?" Miss Martian asked excitedly as she stirred the pot full of their "dinner." The rest of the team, save for Superboy, was seated around the dinner table, watching their new teammate with poorly disguised amazement.

"California," Remy answered.

M'gann waited for her to elaborate on the statement, and upon realizing she wasn't going to. "I'm from Mars, which if you think about it, is pretty funny. I mean Martians don't normally fit in on Earth, but honestly—"

"Cool it M'gann," Artemis warned her, "you're freaking her out." The blonde glanced up at Remy and fixed her with an accusatory look. "Since when does Black Canary have a sister anyways?"

"Since always," Remy replied, looking down her nose at Artemis. "She kept me on the down low, you know since she's a high profile member of the League."

Artemis muttered something noncommittal and took a sip out of her soda.

"What's that?" Remy asked.

"Oh, nothing," she responded, smiling a nice big fake smile. "What is it exactly that you specialize in?"

"This and that," Remy responded.

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Because I could've sworn I've seen you somewhere before."

"Must be someone else you're thinking of," Remy stared Artemis right in the eye.

Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Miss Martian watched the blonde and brunette size each other up. Remy noticed Robin smirking at her, but she chose to ignore it. One bitch at a time, she reasoned.

"So you didn't grow up in Gotham?" Artemis stood up and came to stand directly across from Remy, the kitchen island in between them.

"Definitely not. I've never even been to New York."

"That so?" Remy nodded. "What'd you say you're alias was again?" Artemis looked Remy over again.

"Roulette." Remy rolled her shoulders back, standing up a bit straighter.

"Strange name," Artemis commented, glaring at her. Remy stiffened, focusing on her breathing and slowing down her heart rate. Not an easy task considering Artemis was looking at her as if she knew Remy's secret.

Remy turned away slowly, smiling at M'gann. "Black Canary sure wasn't kidding about Artemis." She turned her head briefly back towards the fuming blonde. "She is a spitfire."

"Now if you all will excuse me," Remy stated, backing away from the group. "I'd like to get a workout in before dinner."

* * *

Remy shook her head as she walked away from her new team. From the moment she had walked in the door she had mentally categorized them all as mediocre.

No wonder Batman had asked her to join.

Save for Robin, most of them probably didn't understand proper martial arts technique or how to handle advanced weaponry. As Remy made her way to the gym, she contemplated telling Batman to shove his offer back up his ass. Remy was a professional and this team was filled with a bunch of hormonal, bumbling teenagers.

Remy snorted, admitting to herself that she was being a snob, but that she was also probably right. Miss Martian looked to be fresh out of the space ship, totally naïve. Her attitude was completely off the charts in the way of peppiness, and Remy was immediately reminded of her former friend Jenna.

There was a fat chance that she would be able to tolerate the girl for more than five seconds.

As for the others…

Whereas Miss Martian seemed to be the most outgoing person on the planet, Superboy was her antithesis. It became obvious to Remy in the first five minutes that the two had some sort of romantic connection, despite them being complete opposites. After all, Superboy hadn't said one word her to since she'd arrived.

In Remy's book, this was a good thing. She liked quiet people and could actually see herself staying in a room with Superboy for more than fifteen minutes.

Aqualad seemed about as sharp as a basketball. Remy knew that was a bit harsh, but honestly, she was not impressed by their team's "leader." He was fairly muscular and no doubt could handle himself well… in an aquatic landscape. Remy knew from experience that being so incapable of adapting to your environment more often than not would get you killed. Remy scoffed at the idea of him having been made team leader.

As Remy changed into her gym clothes she reflected that leaders needed more than just charisma to get by. They needed actual skill.

She hopped on the treadmill as she considered Robin and Artemis. Remy had mentally grouped them together, seeing as how both of them looked to have the mental wherewithal to discover her past. Robin was Batman's protégé and as such, seemed to be the most well-trained. He had no powers, like Remy, and specialized in martial arts. She had heard rumors of his genius from various sources including Black Canary's briefing.

Remy bit her lip as she hopped onto the treadmill, starting her run at a six minute mile pace.

Robin probably knew her secret. He had sure acted like it. Giving Remy loaded glances from across the room. Wearing the annoying little smirk on his face. Yes, Remy concluded, Robin most likely knew her secret, but that didn't mean she was going to be stupid and try and confront him about it.

She couldn't risk one of the others overhearing. One of the others, meaning Artemis. The blonde archer was obviously used to being the alpha female. Someone who got what she wanted, when she wanted it. Well, Remy thought with glee, some things are going to have to change around here. Remy could already tell from the girl's hostility that any chance of them being friends had gone out the window as soon as she had raised Artemis' suspicion.

A shame, Remy concluded. Out of all of her other teammates, it seemed as if she and Artemis would have the most in common. Unfortunately, trying to force to similar people together was like trying to of the north ends of two magnets together. They just repelled.

Lastly, there was Kid Flash, or Wally, as he had insisted that she call him. He was her age but obviously had the comedic maturity level of twelve year old. Add to the fact that he had flirted with M'gann so much it had made Remy nauseous, and Remy was already pissed off. She didn't need some ginger haired Casanova ruining her team's chemistry.

That's right, Remy affirmed, hopping off the treadmill, her team. She would play Batman's little game, because she had no other choice. She was tired of murdering for the shadows.

But if he expected her to take orders from an inexperienced bunch of yahoos he was sadly mistaken. Remy would make it her personal mission to show them what a hero really looked like. By the end of the first week, she would own this team and have their respect.

Remy smirked as she wiped her forehead free of sweat. She knew there was nothing sweeter than being in control.


	8. Unexpected

Author's Note: So, I'm just a little bit sick right now. I can't even talk actually, but I can write! I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm trying to keep the pace at a comfortable and believable pace, since I really hate stories that move to quickly. It's like someone joins the team and then a romance starts right away and then it's a story with no plot really. It's just fluff. Which is fine for one shots but not a legitimate story. I'd appreciate if you guys could let me know if I start to move too quickly or something. Oh and if you guys are up to it, please check out my Supernatural story. And another announcement: I'm adding another story although it's a Mass Effect story. Please check them out if you get some time. Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Unexpected

Remy had concluded, after spending that first day at Mount Justice, that she had nothing to worry about in terms of being challenged. After her short workout, she joined the rest of the team for a "welcoming dinner."

Remy didn't actually want to stay for dinner, but she had strict orders from Black Canary to stay until exactly 6:30 pm. She couldn't possibly fathom why, but Black Canary _was _technically in charge of her.

Remy hated that. One day with her new team and she was already second guessing her decision to seek help from the Dark Knight.

Once her appointed pick up time had rolled around Remy and Dinah had been teleported back the League's small building in Star City. Remy had promptly ditched Dinah and headed to her Yoga studio to work out a little bit of her stress. She had been able to relax a little bit, but once she stepped outside into the city again, her shoulder muscles tightened considerably.

Remy sighed as she entered into the hallway of her apartment building. She shook out her keys, briefly glancing at her neighbor's—Roy Harper's—door. Pulsing music seemed to shake the walls and smoke was seeping out from the bottom of the door.

She unlocked her door, paused for a moment before going inside her apartment, before coming to a decision.

She closed the distance between their apartments with three swift strides. Quite loudly, she pounded on his door twice.

After about a minute, Remy figured he wasn't going to answer, but then she heard footsteps approaching the door.

A tall, skanky looking blonde woman dressed in nothing but a _very _tight metallic pencil skirt and camisole answered. Her black eyeliner was so thick that Remy could barely see where her lash lines began.

"Who the hell are you?" she snorted, taking in Remy's obviously more clean cut appearance.

"A friend of Roy's," Remy lied with a condescending smile. "I'd like to speak with him."

"Be my guest," the woman said with a slight slur, stepping to the side. Remy noticed that she had track marks on her arms and was only wearing one shoe.

Remy stepped into Roy's apartment and was immediately amazed by the sheer destruction of what had probably once been a nice apartment.

The sickly sweet smell of marijuana reached her nostrils and she almost gagged in disgust. Her eyes were drawn to his large plasma television which now had a crack in it the size of the San Andreas fault line. In the corner of the room, on his dining table there was a significant amount of hard liquor, half of which was already gone. Trash littered the floors, as well as a few bodies.

People who were no doubt stoned out of their minds or completely wasted.

Remy was careful in stepping over the bodies and made her way towards the—now alcohol stained—white couch where Roy was seated. Groggily, he looked up at her, taking a drag from his joint.

He grinned lasciviously. "I knew you'd be back."

Remy rolled her eyes. "I came here to tell you to turn the music off and to try and keep it down. Some people actually enjoy the occasional peaceful sleep."

Roy chuckled, apparently finding her standoffishness funny. "Smoke?" he asked, holding the joint out to her.

"No thanks," Remy sighed, looking heavenward as she tried not to breathe in anymore pot smoke. "Just keep it down."

He snapped his fingers and pointed to her. "You got it."

Remy abruptly turned on her heel and made a beeline for the door, tripping over someone's outstretched arm in the process. She did herself a favor and turned down the volume on Roy's stereo herself.

Remy locked her apartment door behind her and paused, pulling out her phone. She quickly sent a text to Ares.

_Everything's fine. Nothing to report yet._

His response was almost instantaneous.

_Good to hear from you. Meet for dinner at Lucille's on 4__th__ and Westbrook. 6:30 pm on Friday._

* * *

Remy smacked against the training mat at Mount Justice. _Hard._ She breathed out slowly as she tried to cool her rapidly rising body temperature.

More sweat poured down her face as a green hand offered her help up.

"That was good for your first try," M'gann said smiling.

Remy resisted the urge to glare at her, but accepted the help up anyways. She was a _teammate_ as Black Canary had so _gently _reminded her.

Even so, Remy hated losing. Martians, who were generally recognized as superhuman, were no exception to her win at all costs attitude.

Remy scoffed at the memory of her earlier conversation with Dinah. That woman was about as gentle as a starving tiger. Remy had been hoping that contact between herself and Black Canary would be minimal, but apparently it was _required_. She had spent nearly an hour being lectured by her on the phone before coming in for her first day of training. Black Canary warned her not to underestimate the team, as if she could read Remy's mind.

Remy had expected a cake walk when she'd come in earlier that morning. Instead, she'd wound up getting her ass kicked by everyone except Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad.

Aqualad was a pretty good hand to hand fighter, but honestly, Remy was better. It was clear that he had way more skill than Remy initially thought, but she was still right in her assessment that her skills were more advanced. It wasn't his fault per se, Remy had just trained harder with her hand to hand skills, having no superpowers of her own. She was cocky, not delusional; Aqualad would probably win the fight if they were near a large body of water.

As for Superboy, he packed a powerful punch, but that was about it. The few times he got in a hit on Remy it had been absolutely jarring, but Remy had won because she was patient and more agile. Superboy seemed to go for the most obvious hit every time and it was easy enough for Remy to predict his moves and take him down in a relatively short amount of time.

Wally had presented more of challenge than his predecessors. They sure didn't call him the fastest kid alive for nothing. He was able to avoid practically all of her initial attacks, but he got cocky very quickly. Not to mention, he kept trying to flirt with her. Thinking it was funny, he started to literally run circles around Remy. Remy had simply stuck her foot out, effectively tripping him and thus winning their match.

Fighting Robin and Miss Martian had been a whole different story.

Robin had managed to take her down in a matter of minutes. Her cockiness at having beaten the other three had made her relax more than she should have in their fight. She was flat on her back within minutes of beginning the fight.

Miss Martian had a clear strength advantage over Remy, but she wasn't stupid like Superboy had been. Remy had been able to hold her off for an acceptable amount of time—long enough so that it wasn't a _total_ embarrassment. She had still ended up on the mat with an aching pain in her backside.

_That leaves Artemis_, Remy glanced across the mat at the blonde archer who was studying her with a calculating expression. Remy had caught the feelings of suspicion radiating from the blonde from the moment she had walked in.

The two of them stepped onto the mat, circling each other. Neither of them dared to strike first—it wasn't Remy's style. They stayed as they were for a few moments before Artemis made the first move.

She charged at Remy lightning fast and swung directly for her jaw. Remy sidestepped the attack threw a punch towards Artemis' abdomen. It hit, but barely grazed her as Artemis jumped back quickly. The blonde archer charged once more, this time flying at Remy with a quick flurry or kicks and jabs. Remy managed to avoid most of the hits, but got herself clipped on the arm twice.

Remy was patient as she let Artemis do most of the attacking. Their fight fell into a smooth rhythm. _Jab, block. Kick, duck. Uppercut, sidestep. _Remy had endurance which was important, but Artemis was like a shark in the water.

The first smell of blood and she would pounce. Remy had to give the girl her props. She was an aggressive martial artist and obviously very well trained. It was a unique fighting style being a mix of street fighting and advanced martial arts. Remy actually wondered where she got her training as she sidestepped another heavy handed blow. She had seen few others with Artemis' fighting style.

Artemis fought just like Phase had the few times they had sparred.

Remy was floored at the realization of this possibility as Artemis' fist connected squarely with her jaw. She was knocked back and almost hit the mat, but managed to regain her balance despite her now throbbing head.

_That's ridiculous,_ Remy told herself, trying to step back into the right frame of mind.

Remy struggled to put these thoughts out of her head, instead choosing to go on the offense. Artemis, still smug from getting that hit in, didn't expect her sudden flurry of attacks.

Remy sent a series of quick jabs toward Artemis' body. Artemis struggled to block them. Artemis may have packed a bigger punch, but she had slower hands than Remy did. Remy saw an opportunity and grabbed at Artemis' wrist, twisting one arm effectively behind her.

Never one to shy from victory, Remy shoved the blonde arched to her knees and face first into the mat.

"_Winner, Roulette,"_ the computer announced. The other members of the team groaned and Remy could've sworn the she saw Wally slip some money into Robin's hand. Black Canary stepped away as the team surrounded Remy and Artemis. She immediately started speaking into her comm.

"Finally!" Robin laughed. "We thought that was going to take another hour.

"—I'll get on it, Canary out," Dinah was saying. "Training is temporarily on hold for today. If you have any problems, see red tornado." She cast a meaningful glance at Aqualad, subtly gesturing to Remy and Artemis before leaving the group alone.

Remy resisted the urge to grin and instead settled for helping Artemis off the mat. The blonde ignored her hand, instead settling on fixing Remy with a glare.

"You fight well," Artemis begrudged her. The rest of the team walked ahead of the two, allowing them to talk.

"Thanks," Remy said, studying the girl. "You do too. You have a very unique fighting style. Where'd you learn?"

Something flashed in Artemis' eyes, but she quickly covered it up. Remy noticed it, however. "Green Arrow of course, you know, my mentor."

"Interesting." Remy recognized that she was obviously lying. That didn't mean she was trained by the League of Shadows, but Batman _had _said he had dealt with a situation similar to her own.

Defensiveness filled the blonde archer's posture as they reached the kitchen. Miss Martian immediately headed for the fridge and started cooking as the rest of the group flopped down onto couch. Artemis turned to Remy. "Where'd _you_ learn to fight like that?"

"Black Canary of course," Remy said evenly, reusing Artemis' words. "You know, _my mentor_."

"_Interesting_." Something seemed to light up in Artemis' eyes, a look that Remy wasn't too fond of. Artemis obviously wasn't stupid, and Remy knew that if she was going to conceal her identity she'd have to keep a close eye on this one.

"_Recognized, Red Arrow B06,"_ the computer chimed in.

"Awww yeah!" Wally shouted hopping off the couch as the footsteps of Red Arrow approached the kitchen.

"Hey guys, how's it—You!" Remy clenched her fist turning just as _Speedy _entered into the kitchen.

"Well fancy meeting you here," Remy said, enthusing her voice with fake cheer. "I was wondering when you were going to call me."

"You two know each other?" Aqualad asked.

"What is _she_ doing _here_?" he demanded.

"I'm a part of this team," Remy interrupted before anyone could answer for her. She straightened up as he walked closer to her. "Unlike you."

"You little bi—" he started to say.

"Hey!" Miss Martian interrupted cheerfully. "Who wants cookies?"

"Not now, M'gann," Red Arrow ground out, glaring at Remy with enough heat to melt off her face. "What are you _really _doing here?"

"I told you," Remy huffed. "Or do I need to speak more slowly so that you can understand? I. Am. A part. Of. This team."

"You're a bitch," he said bluntly walking towards the couch and flopping down next to Wally. The team looked at the slight, steaming form of Remy as she glared at the back of Red Arrow's head.

"Jeese Ro—" Robin started to say.

"Stop that sentence right there," Red Arrow held up a hand and jerked his thumb in Remy's direction. "_She _doesn't need to know."

"You're an egotistical ass," Remy sneered, after a moment of contemplating what the best course of action was. She decided on leaving altogether.

Remy turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen, heading for the doors of Mount Justice. A nice cup of tea and a quick yoga session would set her mind at ease.

"Hey new girl," a voice called out behind her. Remy stopped and turned to find Artemis. "I'm glad somebody else noticed it too." She smirked at Remy, crossing her arms. "See you around?" Remy nodded, about to respond. Before Remy could say anything, however, she disappeared back into the kitchen to join the team.

Remy almost smiled at the girl's comment.

Almost.


	9. Mission Possible

Author's Note: Hi guys! Here's the next chapter, obviously haha. It's slightly longer than all the others so I hope that makes you guys happy Anyways, on with the story! Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Nine: Mission Possible

The entire team sat, with their attention completely focused on Batman. He pulled down a white projection screen and clicked on the overhead projector. The hundred watt smile of Lex Luthor, CEO of LexCorp flashed onto the screen. "As most of you should know by now, the League has had a recurring problem with this man right here."

Batman rapped on the screen as if to draw their attention there completely. Remy sighed as she caught sight of Wally nodding off on the far side of the room. _Typical._

"Publicly, the League cannot take action against Luthor," Batman explained, "because as far as the public knows, he hasn't done anything wrong. That's why I'm giving you this assignment."

"Get to the point," Robin huffed silently from beside Remy. Batman fixed him with a glare, obviously having heard him and Robin's face colored slightly.

"There was a recent break in at Star Labs in Gotham City," Batman continued. "A dangerous toxin was stolen from sub level seven, more commonly known as the prototype labs. I investigated the break in myself and found evidence that Luthor was behind the break in."

"What evidence?" Remy piped up, feeling her teammates eyes turn towards her.

"Doesn't matter," Batman said flatly.

_ Well alrighty then,_ Remy thought irritably.

"I caught sight of the extraction vehicle for the thieves in the security footage and managed to I.D. it," Batman said.

"Then it was a simple matter of hacking the car's LexCorp issue GPS device and tracing it back to the lab where they took the toxin!" Robin called out, his voice cracking slightly.

"Incorrect," Batman said, wiping the smile off of Robin's face. Artemis snickered from the seat behind Remy. "The idiots forgot to black out their plates and all I did was plug in the plate number into the terminal at the Bat Cave."

"Oh," Robin said quietly. "I guess you could do that too.'

Remy almost laughed alongside Artemis this time. The look on Robin's face was so crestfallen… so… _pathetic_. The little devil on Remy's shoulder encouraged her to laugh it up, but she managed to stifle the urge with a discreet cough.

"The owner of the vehicle is head scientist at a LexCorp facility in Nevada," Batman explained, clicking the remote. The building schematics for the LexCorp facility now showed on the screen. "The facility claims to be working on gene modification, however we have reason to believe that this is merely a front. The likelihood that they've taken the toxin to the Nevada facility is high."

"What reason?" Remy scoffed.

"Excuse me?" Batman asked.

Remy cleared her throat, feeling the eyes of her teammates upon her once more. "How do you know it's just a front?"

"Because it's LexCorp," Batman said. "When you deal with a Luthor, nothing is one hundred percent what it seems."

"Well—" Remy was cut off.

"_If _by chance the toxin is not there, then you will extract any and all information about its possible whereabouts. The objective, of course, is to find the toxin and bring it back to base." Batman switched the screen off and removed a thumb drive from the projector, tossing it to Miss Martian.

"I would advise you to take a look at the schematics and find your entry and extraction points," Batman said meaningfully. "Aside from that, I'm leaving you to decide how to accomplish the mission objective.

"This mission _will _require a much more delicate touch," Batman hinted, rolling up the projector screen. "Do _any _of you have any questions or need clarification on the mission objective?"

Wally raised his hand, finally awake, a nonplussed look on his face. "Uh yeah. What are we doing again?"

The general reaction in the room was to groan, save for Batman who merely glared at him before saying, "They can explain it to you on the way there. Contact me when you've found the toxin."

On that note, Batman exited the room, shooting Remy a meaningful look on the way out. She rolled her eyes, waiting for the team to congregate together more closely in the meeting, before slipping out after him.

She matched his stride as they walked down the hall to the entrance of Mount Justice. "You wanted to see me?"

"How are you adjusting with the team?" Batman asked, ignoring her insinuation.

"Fine," Remy muttered. He raised his eyebrows and she elaborated. "Fine as in good, normal, whatever the hell you want to call it."

"Good," he mused. "Are you able to keep your affairs in order properly?"

He was talking about her commitment to the League of Shadows, _obviously_. Remy wasn't an idiot. "Ares wants to meet with me on Friday at a restaurant in the city. He didn't say why though."

"Good, we can have a League member on sight to survey the situation. That way we won't have to risk bugging you. You can send me the coordinates when I debrief you."

Remy nodded. "Smart. But about _this _mission—"

"What about it?" He asked shortly, stopping in his tracks.

"There's a hell of a lot of information you're leaving out," Remy said bluntly. "I'm not as dense as some people would like to believe. There's no way that LexCorp operatives—whom are probably highly trained—are stupid enough to forget to black out their plates, let alone let themselves get caught in surveillance cameras. It's a rookie mistake."

Batman considered her for a moment. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're the boss," Remy scoffed, shifting her weight onto one hip. "Everything you just told us in there screams trap."

"Well if you already know what to expect then it's not a trap," Batman said evenly. "I expect you'll be prepared if that's the case."

"You mean—" Remy started.

"Remind me of why I wanted you on this team, Roulette," Batman said darkly before teleporting out of Mount Justice.

Remy sighed, starting back for the briefing room. For lack of a better word, Remy would have described the Dark Knight as _bat_shit crazy.

* * *

"There are eight levels to this LexCorp facility," Aqualad explained, from his seat at the front of Miss Martians' Bioship.

Remy felt a bit nervous about flying in, well, a spaceship, but everyone else on the team seemed to be comfortable letting M'gann drive. With her mind of course, as Conner had pointed out to her, as if it were _that _obvious.

Remy sincerely hoped that M'gann wasn't as spastic while trying to fly as she was when she was running around Mount Justice. A severe case of ADD doesn't really help much at all when you're twenty thousand feet in the air.

Not to mention that she was slightly uncomfortable in her new role as hero.

She now had to put on that costume that she'd kept stashed underneath her bed. She had always wanted to play hero, wear the costume and all that jazz, which is why she had invested in one months ago. But back then it had been an idle fantasy, now that it was a reality, it just made her feel like a kid dressing up for Halloween. It consisted of a tight fitting, strapless black top with red seams and black tights and flat leather boots—no heel for stealth purposes, obviously. She had her hands wrapped with her boxing wraps so that she wouldn't break a hand trying to punch someone. Other than that, she just had just thrown a black frontless wrap, allowing her the freedom of movement of her upper body, while still covering her pale white skin which tended to show up even in the dark.

Black Canary had insisted on a mask, however since Remy refused to change her everyday appearance in some fashion. She was still getting used to having to see through those little eye slits.

Not to mention the fact that Remy hadn't been able to touch her guns since joining the team. As a matter of a fact, she couldn't even _find _them. Her weapons cases had made the trip with her to Star City, but not a day later all the cases had disappeared from the compartment she had hidden underneath her living room couch.

She'd even had to leave her staff with the switchblade—which Remy thought really completed her casino themed outfit quite well—at home.

"Therefore we shall split up into teams of three and divide the facility's levels between the teams," Aqualad said, breaking Remy's train of thought.

She coughed loudly. "There's seven of us now, Kaldur," she reminded him.

"Oh," the Atlantian colored slightly. "Right well then, a team of three and four?"

Remy shook her head. "Split the four. We need groups that can move around the facility quickly and silently. Three is already pushing it."

"Who put you in charge?" Wally huffed irritably. Remy swiveled her chair around to glare at the speedster.

"Oh grow up," Remy snapped, turning her chair back to face Kaldur's.

Kaldur fixed Wally with a meaningful but, nevertheless returned to his discussion. "Now if we're going to split up, we need to decide upon the rendezvous point…"

* * *

_Of all the people on our team, _Remy huffed, glancing over at Wally, _I had to get stuck with him._

_You know I can hear you right? _Wally asked flatly.

Remy groaned. Telepathic communication was the worst inconvenience that she could possibly think of. Remy didn't need to talk to get the job done and neither should the rest of the team.

She, Wally, and Kaldur were currently crouched behind the bushes in a blind spot for the LexCorp's security cameras. Miss Martian and Superboy had entered into the facility first off, followed swiftly by Robin and Artemis.

Remy had suggested that they space the entry points and time in between them accordingly, so as not to cause an unusual amount of commotion. It had been a good ten minutes since Robin and Artemis had gone into the facility through the back door. Miss Martian and Superboy were probably crawling through the ventilation ducts as they sat there.

_You're attitude doesn't help the team Roulette_, Kaldur thought calmly.

_Ha! _Wally thought triumphantly, prompting Remy to scoff at him. _Nanana boo boo!_

_Neither does your immaturity, _Kaldur added. Remy shot a smug smile at him over her shoulder.

_If Wally gets out of hand, I usually just smack him_, Artemis offered with an internal chuckle.

_Hey! _Wally's thought was indignant.

_Could you guys shut up? _Robin complained. _I'm trying to hack this door._

_ And you're giving me a headache, _Conner added.

Remy rolled her eyes, scanning the facility's outer security. Aside from a few guards making perimeter sweeps and the state of the art security system, Remy had to admit the security was pretty lax.

_You call this lax? _Wally thought disbelieving. _Were you in the navy seals or something before this?_

Remy fixed him with a glare. _You know, just because we're on a mission and you're able to listen to my thoughts, doesn't mean you __**should**_**.**

Wally rolled his eyes as Kaldur rubbed his temples. Remy could tell that even though he was a relatively calm individual, he was obviously getting annoyed very quickly.

_Got it! _Robin cheered. _Artemis and I are in. We got the doors open for you guys, Kaldur._

_ Thanks Robin,_ Kaldur nodded to no one in particular, probably forgetting that we couldn't see each other.

Remy turned away from the boys and scanned the scene in front of her quickly, seeing a short break in the perimeter guards' sweep of the area. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see a pair of trucks coming in.

_Convenient, _Remy thought as Wally started to stand up. Remy promptly yanked him back down into the bushes.

_You don't think much do you? _She sneered, earning herself a glare from Wally. She yanked at his collar and pointed back down the road where the convoy of trucks were approaching the facility.

_Good thinking, _Aqualad complimented her.

_Wait for the trucks to stop, _Remy instructed. She pointed towards the chain link fence and the facility's watch tower. _When they stop, just go._

_ You're so bossy, _Wally complained.

Remy sighed, not even bothering to answer this comment. She was beyond the point of caring what some fleet-footed, immature ginger thought of her. Instead, she turned her attention back to the trucks that were now gradually slowing down.

Without a second thought, Remy leaped over the bushes and broke out into a sprint towards the back of the last truck. With an almost inhuman show of agility and grace, she slid underneath the truck and latched onto the hardware underneath, effectively hiding herself from view.

She lowered her head in time to see Kaldur latch onto the truck in front of her as Wally suddenly appeared beside her. Her heart stopped for a moment at his sudden appearance.

_Fastest kid alive remember?_ He grinned.

Remy thought about this for a second. _ Then shouldn't you have beat me here?_

_ I wasn't trying to run __**that **__fast, _he protested, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. _Besides, ladies first._

Remy felt the truck begin to lurch forward. _Relax. I was kidding._

_ Oh, well that's… different, _he thought, eyeing her. Remy read his thoughts as being surprised, but as soon as the thought was there it was gone, disappearing like a kite flown off it's string and into the sky.

_Did I really just think that? _Remy gagged. Poeticism was _not _her style

_Yes, _Wally laughed, _yes you did._

_Hey would you two cut it out?_ Artemis interjected. _I am __**trying**__to copy these files._

_ You guys found something? _The cheerful voice of Miss Martian broke through the thought bubble for what seemed like the first time that night.

_Something? We found the jackpot,_ Robin told them.

_Have you run across the nerve toxin yet? _Kaldur asks.

_No, _Robin admitted grudgingly, _just their files. But this lab is huge, we need you guys down here to cover the rest of the place. The toxin is most likely down here but—_

_ He needs to keep his hack job quiet, _Artemis finished for him. _Get your asses down here. Basement level six._

_ We're on our way, _M'gann told them.

_As are we, _Aqualad informed the group.

* * *

Remy had split off by herself sometime after the team had regrouped on level six, figuring she could get more done on her own. She had taken herself to the opposite side of the lab and begun searching the metal cabinets for anything that looked like a dangerous toxin. Whatever the hell that meant.

_What does this crap even look like? _Remy thought, leaving anyone open to answer the question. _More accurately, what's it called?_

_ They refer to it as 'Test Chemical Theta,' _Robin laughed at the name. _Far as I can tell it's made up of Calciseptine and a bunch of different fluorocarbons._

_ English please? _Remy suggested, dropping to her knees to glance at a row of binders. She pulled out one labeled Project Theta and started scanning the table of contents.

_Calciseptine is venom taken from a Black Mamba_, Wally answered thoughtfully. _Fluorocarbons are odorless, and colorless gases that are generally known to cause problems with the lungs._

The group was silent for a moment as they considered what Wally had said. _So it's like a panic toxin? _Robin asked. _The Black Mamba—_

_ Sort of, _Wally mentally shrugged, interrupting him. _Not really though._ _The venom from a Black Mamba causes erratic heartbeat and difficulty of breathing. It causes you to go into cardiac arrest and most people die within an hour of being bitten. An oxidized form of the venom—if it were to be inhaled—might work even quicker if it went straight to the lungs._

_ Who knew Wally West was a science prodigy? _Artemis mused. _**I **__certainly would've never guessed._

_ Oh shut it Artemis, _Wally snapped. _If what I'm thinking is correct then we're dealing with a pretty dangerous bio-weapon. On a large scale, it could be disastrous._

Everyone's thoughts turned immediately more somber, save for Remy's thoughts. She was still scanning through the binders.

_ How would it be distributed? _Kaldur asked.

_Irrelevant, _Remy thought, turning another page in the binder. She quickly scanned the page, reading the memo that detailed the science team moving the toxin to sub-level eight. _ Let's just find the toxin and get out. It's not here._

_ Sub-level eight, _Conner said, reading her thoughts.

Remy stood up slowly, closing the binder and started running back to the team's position.

_God you're slow,_ Wally complained as Remy skidded to a stop next to Miss Martian.

Suddenly the computer that Robin and Artemis were working on blanked out. Artemis pressed the space bar a few times and tried turning it on again, but to no avail.

_Let me, _Robin moved her to the side and tried typing in a few commands. _Nothing. I can't get a restart, someone must have shut it off remotely._

_ But nobody knows we're here,_ Miss Martain thought, a frown on her green face.

_Try it again, _Kaldur instructed Robin.

_I'm telling you it's not working, _Robin said irritably.

Remy shifted her glanced towards the large steel door that they had entered the lab from. She pulled on the handle, only to find it locked. She jiggled the handle a couple of times, even tried kicking the door, but nothing happened.

_We're locked in, _Remy thought grimly. _They know we're here._

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry guys, I know you probably don't want to listen to me ramble. But I just tried my hand at a cliffhanger, a lame one at that, but it's my first one lol. So tell me, lame? Awesome? Weird?

Peace._  
_


	10. Oh Shit

Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the really nice reviews! You guys have no idea how happy that makes me haha. Wow, another longer chapter! Lol I guess missions take a lot of describing (: Some of you may be surprised with how this turns out and I'm not exactly sure how happy I am with it, but I'll let you be the judge. Anyways, next chapter! Let's find out who tried to lock the team down (:

And wow! Chapter 10 already! This is so crazy! I couldn't have done it without all you faithful readers and reviewers (: Thanks sooo much!

To PockyMunchingGod: Since I couldn't PM you I have to say thank you here! I'm glad _somebody _thinks I'm funny. Frankly, my humor is missed a lot in conversation because you actually have to pay attention to what I'm saying to get it lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Ten: Oh shit.

"Oh shit," Conner said, echoing the team's thoughts. Nevertheless they turned to him, staring at him with surprised expression on their faces.

"Shh!" Miss Martian said urgently.

"What?" Conner asked, his voice flat. "They already know that we're here. What's the point in staying quiet?"

Wally was the first to say anything to the boy of steel. "Conner, dude, where did you learn to talk like that?"

He shrugged. "I've been watching cable."

_That would explain it_, Remy thought sardonically.

"I thought you were some hacker prodigy," Remy scoffed, staring at Robin.

"I _am_," Robin huffed. "There's no way someone could have detected my hack."

"Well apparently they did, boy _doofus_," Artemis scowled. "Now we're stuck here."

"Hey!" Wally snapped, coming to the defense of his best friend. "Lay off! Like you could do any better."

"Was I talking to you, Baywatch?" Artemis snarled.

"Guys please!" Miss Martian said quietly and Kaldur called loudly, "This isn't helping anyone!"

Remy ignored the team as they broke into furious, panicked arguments. Artemis and Robin got into each other's faces while Miss Martian stood awkwardly to the side, trying to interject politely. Conner just huffed and started muttering to himself, as Wally yelled loudly at Artemis. Kaldur stood to the side with Miss Martian, rubbing his temples as he had in the bushes earlier that night.

Suddenly she felt a vibration from inside her boot. She glanced down, thoroughly confused as to why her boot was vibrating. Reaching inside, she pulled out a small metal earbud. She immediately recognized it as her League of Shadows comm.

_Are you shitting me? _Remy thought, sending the thought to whatever higher power there was. Her League of Shadows comm was waiting for her to pick up. Ares must have slipped it into her boot sometime when she was out of her apartment.

_Convenient, _Remy thought blackly, walking away from the team. She popped it in her ear and activated it with a click.

"You have got to be shitting me with this Ares!" She hissed, making sure to keep her voice low. "I'm on a mission."

"Would it kill you to be civil?" Remy could almost hear the smirk in Ares' voice as he addressed. "I'm about to help you out here. I'll find you the toxin and make you hero of the day when you get the team out of there."

"How?" Remy demanded.

"I have access to the LexCorp facility that you're currently infiltrating," Ares informed her. "You _did _give me the coordinates before you left."

"So you're babysitting me?" Remy asked flatly.

"Not you, per se," Ares said slowly. "But clearly I was right to hack the LexCorp facility mainframe as an insurance policy. The boy wonder's hack job was almost perfect, except he made a rookie mistake, very minor but detectable. He just forgot to—"

"Don't bore me with tech speak," Remy ordered, glancing at the team over her shoulder. She walked off into one of the aisles, secluding herself further.

"I only have access to secondary systems and surveillance cameras so I can't unlock the doors, but I can guide you to the toxin."

Remy thought about this for a moment. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," Ares said easily. "Not a big one at least. I just one little vial of that toxin—"

"Are you crazy?" Remy scoffed. "You just expect me to hand you a dangerous bioweapon? I'm not an idiot."

Ares exhaled slowly and he was silent for a short period of time. "Look Remy, I made it clear from the start that I wanted to be somewhat pleasant with you. Phase thought he could control you with blackmail and fear. It's not how I would prefer to work with you. That can all change, I assure you."

"Fine."

"Good girl," he said cheerfully, causing Remy to roll her eyes. "Trust me, this'll earn you points with the team, which is _exactly _what you want."

"Alright so tell me what to do," Remy snapped.

"Find row seventeen, section b and walk until you hit the wall. The wall isn't as thick there and the elevator shaft is right behind it," Ares informed her. "Keep your comm in, I'll tell you where to go from there."

There was a click and Ares was silent. Remy forced herself to uncoil her already tight shoulders and soldier on. It was embarrassing to have to receive help from her Shadows handler. Of course, the fact that he was checking up on her on _this _mission was completely mortifying. Not to mention a bit terrifying. This just proved that the Shadows could keep tabs on her anywhere she went.

He was probably watching her freak out on the surveillance cameras now.

_Not giving him the satisfaction,_ Remy thought haughtily, following Ares' directions, heading for section B.

"Hey!" Remy shouted, the echo sounding throughout the facility. "Over here. I have an idea."

Within a minute the group was gathered around, quiet as they stared at the piece of wall Remy was standing behind. She rapped on it on the wall, listening to the _thunk_ of the wall.

"What?" Kid Flash asked irritably.

"Robin. Give me your explosives." Remy demanded.

"Why?" he asked, suspicion clouding his tone.

Remy sighed. "Just hand them over." Robin did as he was told and gave Remy a few exploding packs. "Step back."

She armed them quickly and slapped them onto the wall behind her, watching as the beeping became erratic. She took a few steps back as the team ran for cover quickly. Remy shielded her face and turned slightly as the wall exploded before her.

"Are you stupid or something?" Wally demanded. "That'll trip the alarms."

"I'm getting us out of here," Remy scoffed. "Behold the elevator shaft."

"Way to go Remy!" Miss Martian cheered.

Artemis stared at Remy, her eyes narrowed. "How'd you know where the elevator shaft was?"

"I have pretty close to a photographic memory," Remy lied. "I remembered where the elevators were in the schematics. Now, come on, we go down two floors."

Without waiting for the team to follow she lunged for the elevator cable and started sliding down, her hand wraps taking away most of the friction from the cables.

Her ear started to crackle as the comm turned itself back on and Ares' voice was able to filter through.

"Perfect timing Remy," he said approvingly. "The security team is headed to level six to investigate. Level eight is clear of all security personnel."

* * *

"Damn, these labs all look the same," Artemis complained. "How the hell are we supposed to find anything?"

"The old fashioned way I suppose," Robin said. "_Look_ for the toxin."

Thanks to Ares, they had made it to level sub level eight and managed to avoid the security personnel. Remy still didn't feel quite at ease however. Whoever had locked them in on level six was obviously not going to just _give up_.

"There's a safe about twenty feet in front of you on your left," Ares put in suddenly, startling Remy. "The toxin should be in there."

Remy let out a huff and followed Ares' instructions, coming to a stop in front of the safe. Bending down, she laid her ear against the cold metal and set to work cracking the safe. She wasn't the best at it, but hopefully she could get it done.

"The combination is 36-14-34," Ares added, his voice wry.

"What the—How do you _know _that?" Remy demanded, staring up at the ceiling, as if she were trying to stare directly at him.

"If you want to look at me then look at the security cameras," he added, his tone patronizing.

"You didn't answer my question," she said flatly. When he didn't answer, Remy quickly put in the combination and opened up the safe. With a hiss the door opened up to reveal stacks of a clear liquid encased in chemical test tubes.

Furtively, she glanced around before grabbing two of the vials from the safe and stuffing them down into her boots.

"Hey! I found the—"

Remy didn't get the chance to finish her loud exclamation as a swift uppercut was delivered to her chin, knocking her flat on her back. Remy's vision blacked out around the edges for a moment but she forced herself back up onto her feet, hands poised to defend herself.

There was no one there.

"What the—" Remy glanced wildly around her, looking for anything out of the ordinary. _The attack had to come from somewhere_, she reminded herself.

"Ares," she whispered into her comm. "Did you see that?"

"Yes," he answered blankly.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Where is he?" she demanded harshly.

"How should I know? Figure it out." Her comm clicked off and she let out a groan of frustration, allowing her eyes to continue their search. _So much for his help. _She kicked the door to the safe shut and backed herself against one of the shelving units, keeping her hands up and ready.

The idle chatter of Miss Martian and Wally could be heard from the other side of the lab, but other than that it was silent. She heard Miss Martian call the team to gather on the other side of the lab.

_Great_, she thought acidly, _just wonderful._

Remy felt something in the air change suddenly— and call it intuition—, but she ducked abruptly, moving away from the shelving unit behind her, narrowly avoiding a silver blade.

Her attacker, dressed completely in black, his face covered by a mask, advanced upon Remy. Remy narrowed her eyes as she slipped the blade once more. He kept advancing with incredible speed, striking at her over and over again with the thin blade.

_Dammit, _she thought fondly of her own knife which was currently sitting in a kitchen drawer at her apartment in Star City. _What I wouldn't give—_

As her attacker thrust the blade for Remy's ribcage she moved out of the way and closed the distance between herself and the attacker, grabbing his wrist and disarming him. Quickly, she fired off a rapid combination of jabs and finished off with a hard uppercut, knocking him flat on his back.

Smirking, she cracked her knuckles and stared down at her groaning attacker. "Feels good doesn't it?" She idly rubbed her aching chin as he started to stir.

"It's just like getting a massage," a male voice said from behind her. Before Remy could turn around she felt a foot connect with her back, pushing her down into the ground.

She groaned loudly, rolling over to stand up, ready to fight off the second attacker.. "There are two of you? Seriously?"

"Not quite," the newcomer answered, whistling loudly. Remy watched as two more of these black-clad commandos dropped from the upper shelving units, landing with a dull thud on the floor.

"Aw shit," Remy muttered under her breath. Two was an annoyance, four was a challenge, especially since these guys were obviously trained just as well as she had been.

The fight commenced, all four of the men surrounding Remy. She had no choice but to defend against their attacks, as much as she could. From out of nowhere, a blade lodged itself into Remy's upper thigh, causing her to cry out.

"You little fucker," Remy spat out, she yanked the blade out of her thigh. "You're goanna pay for that."

Thoroughly pissed off, Remy started to fight more aggressively. For all that she was worth, Remy kicked and clawed her way through two of them until they were on the ground unconscious. She had taken more hits to her actual body in doing so, but now there were two less.

She was surprised none of the team had called out to her, considering that she hadn't answered Miss Martian's call. Maybe they had found something that had completely held their attention for the time being. It's not like their fighting was particularly _loud _afterall.

_These guys are fucking ninjas, _Remy thought, exasperated.

Quickly she ran full speed at the wall and kicked herself up into the air, gaining momentum as she dropped onto one of the men from overhead. Instinctually, her hands shot to his neck and she prepared herself to break it.

Remy stopped herself instead settling for kicking his face in, effectively knocking him out. She whirled around, waiting for the final attacker to come at her, but he never did.

She stood there, watching the shadows for any sign of movement. Out of the corner of her eyes she caught something moving but it was gone before she could even determine what it was.

From out of nowhere a hand shot out and pinned Remy to the wall, knocking her head back severely against the hard concrete. Her feet dangled off the ground.

"Not so cocky now are you?" her attacker smirked at her.

Remy's breath started to shorten as he slowly slid his knife out of its holster. Ruby red drops fell to the floor from the blade. _This is the asshole who stabbed me, _Remy thought angrily.

She kicked her feet trying to gain some sort of foothold or momentum. Anything that she could use. His arm pressed into her throat restricting her airflow slightly.

"I'm going to enjoy gutting you," the man whispered, wiping the blade on his shirt.

"Fuck you," Remy snarled, wincing as he put the blade to her cheek. "If that leaves a scar, then I promise you I will hunt you down, and kill you _and _your entire family."

"Meaningless threats from an amateur," he laughed.

"Just kill me then," Remy challenged, coughing, "if you have the sack."

"I prefer to take it slowly," he said, licking his lips. "Girls these days are so _easy."_

Her comm crackled and Ares' voice filtered through. "Oh for god sakes. Call for help."

Remy relented, swallowing her pride, and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Before she could even blink, the attacker was unconscious on the floor and she found herself being unceremoniously dropped onto the floor as well. Wally was standing in front of her, a cocky grin on his face.

"That was fast," she said, surprised.

"Fastest kid alive remember?" He countered.

"Touché." Remy glanced up at him and coughed, rubbing her throat. "Uhh, thanks, I guess."

"All in a day's work, gorgeous," he winked, helping her up. Remy ignored the 'gorgeous' part and instead picked up the bloody blade from the floor, searching it for any type of insignia.

Slowly, the team filtered in towards them, shock clear on their faces as they took in the scene before them.

"Oh my gosh! Why didn't you call for help sooner?" Miss Martian asked, flying towards her quickly.

"Are you injured?" Aqualad asked, concerned.

"I had it under control," Remy assured them. "And I'm fine."

Artemis scoffed. "Right, because that wasn't you I just heard _screaming_ for help."

"And you're leg is, like, spewing blood," M'gann said, horrified.

Remy narrowed her eyes, ignoring M'gann completely. "Watch it blondie or you'll end up like them." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the four bodies strewn about the lab.

"Because you were doing so well on your own," Artemis laughed.

"You're acting oddly ungrateful to the person who _found _the toxin," Remy said haughtily, walking over to the safe. She entered the code in and moved to the side of it. "_Voila."_

"Nice going Roulette," Robin said, bending down to scoop out all of the vials. He opened up a pouch in his utility belt and started stuffing them in. "Miss M, can you get the bio-ship closer to the facility? We're going to have to make a break for it."

"They don't have to know it was you," Ares put in. "Those four goons will be left at the scene of the crime once security gets there. You can get the team out quietly as it was intended."

"They won't know we're behind it," Remy said slowly, echoing Ares' words hollowly. "Those four idiots will be left at the scene of the crime. One of them is bound to wake up before the security team gets here. Then _they're _the ones who get the blame."

"Speaking of which," Ares added. "You shouldn't hang around there much longer."

"That sounds like it could work," Miss Martian put in helpfully.

"It will," Remy promised.

"What about security footage?" Conner asked.

"I've already thought of that," Ares promised in her ear.

"Taken care of," Robin put in. "The cameras mysteriously shut off before we even got in here. I'm guessing Bats took care of it."

"There's still the matter of who locked us in in the first place," Aqualad put in.

"It was obviously those idiots," Remy shrugged, glancing at the black-clad attackers strewn about the floor. One of them was beginning to come to.

"Take the elevator shaft up to the roof," Ares instructed, "it'll be easiest to get out that way."

"Let's not stick around to get caught, hmm?" Artemis put in impatiently.

"Good idea," Robin chuckled.

Remy took the initiative, leading the team to the elevator shaft, but allowed them to go first this time. She took one glance back into the lab before looking up at one of the security cameras and mouthing a _thank you._

Ares was arrogant, a pain in the ass, but also oddly helpful in guiding Remy to the exit. He had helped her. Whether Remy wanted to admit it or not, she couldn't have finished the mission without Ares' help.

That was not a comforting thought.


	11. Accepting Help

Author's Note: Alrighty, chapter 11! It's going by sooo fast. I honestly can't believe I've stuck with the story this long lol. You guys that keep on reading and reviewing really make me want to keep writing. So thanks so much to all of you! This chapter is a bit interesting, we learn about Remy's mother and we start to see how Remy balances being a hero and a normal teenager. I'll give you a hint: she doesn't multitask well. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Accepting Help

Life was hectic.

She was currently out on patrol with Black Canary—one of the stipulations of her having to join the team—and they were both currently perched on the Applied Medical building in Star City. The night air was cool around them and the city was strangely quiet tonight. Usually the sounds of loud partiers in the high rise apartment buildings could be heard, their loud machinations all fusing together into a cacophony of sorts.

Tonight was quiet, however. Remy and Dinah had been patrolling the city for over three hours, travelling from rooftop to rooftop, but still nothing came up. Not even a simple mugging.

Remy allowed herself a deep breath and a moment of inner peace. Ever since she'd returned from that first mission with the team, things had been crazy. In a very short amount of time, her life had transformed into something she hardly recognized. She was busier than she'd ever been when she'd simply been working for the League of Shadows.

Remy almost laughed. Nothing was ever _simple _when you worked with the League of Shadows. She had the emotional scarring to prove _that._

"You doing okay kid?" Black Canary sent a sideways glance her way.

"Yeah," Remy shrugged, sliding her feet out from underneath her and sitting down on the roof ledge. _She _so_ didn't want to get into this with her "mentor."_

"How's that leg?" Dinah asked, gesturing to her stitched thigh.

"Better," Remy commented, ending all conversation on that subject.

"You look tired," the blonde observed, taking a seat beside her.

Remy raised her eyebrows. "So what? Now you're studying me, _sis."_

Black Canary rolled her eyes. "I'm naturally observant. Comes with the job."

"You don't have to pretend to like me," Remy said flatly. "I'm just here for appearances sake."

"You don't have to be so stand-offish you know," Dinah said, staring out at the building across from them.

"It's nothing personal," Remy assured her. "I'm just not into the whole buddy-buddy thing."

"_Right,_" Black Canary scoffed. "You've got the whole self-sufficient thing going on for you. The '_I don't need anyone but myself' _gig. It's not a weakness to accept someone's help, you know."

Remy raised her eyebrows at the older woman. _Is she _trying _to piss me off? _Remy growled internally.

Dinah considered Remy for a moment. "You know if you actually listened to something other than the sound of your own voice, you might learn something for once. I've helped Superboy with—"

"Look I get that you want to help me," Remy said irritably. "You've got a hero complex. But I don't need your help. I've been on my own for a while now, and I've been doing just fine."

"You call falling in with the League of Shadows fine?" Canary raised her eyebrows. Remy remained silent and stared down at the street below them. Talking about the shadows with a League member made her uncomfortable. Her supposed teammates didn't know but Canary and Batman did. It was _so _typical of them not to tell their sidekicks the whole story. "Didn't think so."

"So what's your point?" Remy sneered. "Are you _trying _to piss me off?"

"Of course not." Dinah laughed and put her hands into her jacket pockets. "You remind me of myself. I was the _exact _same way when I was younger. Thought I was invincible, better than everyone else—"

"I don't think that," Remy protested, knowing that Dinah saw right through her.

"—and you wanna know what happened to me?" she asked with a grin. "I found a mentor, Wildcat, who kicked my ass and made me better than I could've ever dreamed."

"Gee I wonder where this is going," Remy muttered. Dinah ignored her and continued to talk.

"He was tough on me, tougher than anyone else ever had been. Put me in my place and didn't let me get away with _anything._ He's the one who introduced me to Batman, helped me get into the League," Black Canary informed her. "And even though I wanted no part in being a team player, he practically had to force me to join. If it hadn't been for him I'd probably still be on the streets stopping muggings. I might have even ended up in a place like the one you're in, with the Shadows."

"Can you get to the point?" Remy asked impatiently.

"The point," Dinah said with a glare, "is that _somebody_ gave a shit about me and that made all the difference."

"So what you're saying is that you give a shit?" Remy snarled. "Well congratulations! That's great for you."

"I'm _saying,_" Dinah said sharply after a moment of awkward silence, "that you're not in this alone."

"Fine," Remy snapped, "you made your point."

The two sat together on the roof for what seemed like a very long time to Remy. Black Canary seemed content to waste away the night, listening to her police scanner while Remy fumed silently beside her.

Dinah stood up and glanced at her watch. "It's getting late and I know you've got school in the morning."

"Yeah." Remy stood up and dusted her pants off, stifling a yawn. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd had a good night's sleep. "I'll see you tomorrow." Remy started towards the stairwell, but was stopped by Dinah.

"Remy," she said firmly, placing her hand on Remy's shoulder, "remember what I said."

* * *

Remy was going to be late for school. Again. Ever since she'd been roped into attending Franklin Prep—where the students had more money than God—she'd been late four out of every five days. It wasn't Remy's fault, _really,_ it was the Justice League's fault.

Today, it just so happened to be her alarm clock's fault.

Her alarm hadn't gone off until nearly seven thirty. School started at eight which gave her roughly fifteen minutes to shower, eat, get dressed and look presentable. On the best of days, it took Remy fifteen minutes to get to school, but that was when there was no traffic.

One thing that Remy had learned about living in the city, was that no matter what time of day, there was _always _traffic.

_Perfect. _Remy groaned as she hopped out of her bed and headed into her bathroom. She stripped as she turned the shower up to full blast and stepped into the cold water.

At least she didn't have to worry about picking out something to wear. The school had very specific rules about how their oh-so-preppie uniforms should be worn.

Remy quickly washed her hair and hopped out of the shower, throwing her hair into a towel wrap as she yanked her school uniform on. She left her tie untied and her shoes unlaced, but she didn't have time to worry about what she looked like. She grabbed her backpack from off the floor and rushed into the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of tea and stuffing a bagel into her mouth.

The clock read 7:40 as Remy glanced back at it one last time, taking the towel off her head, before heading out the door. Of course, the elevator ride down to the garage seemed to take forever, with what seemed like every single business man and woman that lived in the building getting on.

She rushed over to her beat up 1989 Camry and threw her bag in the passenger seat along with her breakfast. She pushed the key in and turned it, lifting the emergency brake so she could back out.

Only nothing happened.

Remy turned the key again, listening to her car idle, waiting for it to start. But it didn't.

"You've got to be kidding me," Remy muttered, getting out of the car and lifting up the hood. To be honest, she had no idea how to fix a car but, she had to try. It was going to be a week's worth of detention if she was late again.

Remy leaned over the greasy engine and looked for anything out of the ordinary. _Like a pipe bomb or something_, she reasoned, _more likely a wrench._ Remy untwisted the cap on the oil filter—the one thing she knew how to do—but there was nothing wrong as far as she could tell.

She checked the gas tank, despite the fact that she had gotten gas just last night, before she went out on patrol with Black Canary.

"Goddammit," she cursed, closing the hood and leaning over on her forearms. She took out her cell phone to call Dinah. If she was lucky, Dinah would come pick her up and give her a ride despite the fact that Remy had been exceptionally rude the night before.

It was her only chance, really.

As she dialed, a whistle sounded behind her. Remy whirled around to find her neighbor Roy staring at her, an appraising look on his face. He was wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, holding his motorcycle helmet under one of his arms, a bag in the other. Remy had to acknowledge that he looked strangely hot standing there like that.

_Ugh gag, _Remy snapped herself out of it and straightened up, putting on her most terrifying expression.

"I don't have time for this today, Roy," Remy growled. "My car won't start and I need to get to—"

He raised his eyebrows, the guile disappearing from his face. "You need a ride?"

"No," Remy lied. "I was just going to call—"

"Whoever you're planning on calling, won't get here soon enough." Roy walked over to his motorcycle and straddled it, keeping his eyes on Remy. "Grab your bag and get on."

Remy opened her mouth to reply with a scathing retort, but thought better of it. Black Canary's words from last night echoed in her mind:

_"It's not a weakness to accept someone's help."_

Before she could convince herself that riding on the back of her _annoying_, _chauvinistic_ neighbor's motorcycle was an _awful _idea, Remy had grabbed her backpack and locked her car. Remy knew she was going to regret this later, but she _needed_ to get to school. Desperately. If only to get a reprieve from her busy, not to mention her highly irregular lifestyle.

"Knew you couldn't resist," he smirked, tossing her a black motorcycle helmet.

Remy caught it and put it over her head, sliding the shield up so she could see. She climbed on the back of the motorcycle, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, wrapping her arms around Roy's waist.

"I'm just a sucker for black-clad saviors," Remy allowed, running her hand along the sleek, black bike. She ignored the fact that Roy was also technically her black-clad savior.

Roy smiled smugly, clearly pleased with himself until he saw Remy staring fondly at the motorcycle. "Never mind then. Where to?"

"Franklin Prep. I need to get there by eight," Remy told him. "Can you handle that?"

"Eight minutes to be there by eight?" he asked, glancing at his watch. "Easy as pie."

Roy turned back around and started the motorcycle, startling Remy with the sudden onslaught of loud noise. She could feel his laughter reverberate through his chest as he kicked up the bike's stand and sped off.

Remy had to admit she liked riding on the back of Roy's motorcycle. Not because of Roy of course, but the ride was quite exhilarating. She would _definitely_ have to save up for one. Or at least ask the League to provide her with one if her car crapped out. Her Camry may have been reliable in the past, but it starting to break down more often than it started.

Of course with Roy driving at high speeds, weaving in and out of the stagnant traffic easily, Remy got to Franklin in record time. He pulled up onto the curb, garnering the attention of the straggling student body that still waited outside. With two minutes to spare Remy hopped off the bike, yanking the helmet off, shouting a thank you as she started for the main school building.

"Remy! Hold up!" Roy called after her.

She stopped in her tracks, glancing down at the helmet in her hands. "Sorry. Here you go." She tossed the helmet back to him, turning to go as he caught it.

"Keep it," he thrust the helmet back at here, waggling his eyebrows, "and I'll pick you up later. We can grab late lunch at the new sushi restaurant that opened up down the block."

Remy laughed, tossing it back to Roy. "Sorry, but no." She turned to go, calling her thanks one more time before she ran into the school building. The curious eyes of her classmates followed her the whole way.

It might've had something to do with the fact that her tie was still untied and her shoes were still unlaced.

* * *

The school day had gone by fast, surprising, considering it was a Friday and Remy hated school. She had called Dinah at school asking for a pick up so that they could head over to Mount Justice together. She had obliged and they had teleported to Mount Justice and started training with the team as soon as everyone was gathered.

For once, Remy had wished that training had run longer, as she got off the bus in Gotham City. The Jasmine Springs Wellness Hospital—the loony bin, as it was referred to by the general population—loomed in front of her, challenging her to just walk away, to come back another time. Remy had come here many times after training over the past few weeks, only to stop and make a complete one-eighty back to Mount Justice. It practically taunted her as Remy thought of the straight-jacketed inhabitants, the padded cells…

She almost turned around again. _Almost._

Instead of giving into these thoughts, she pushed through the doors of the hospital, marched straight up to the front desk and asked to see Elise Vanderbilt.

Her mother.

Remy was led to her mother's room by a perky blonde nurse who babbled on and on about how Mrs. Vanderbilt _never _got visitors and how nice it was that her daughter was _finally_ coming to see her.

Remy swallowed the lump in her throat as the nurse opened the door to her mother's room and called out. Her mother was seated in a chair by the window, staring out, completely still except for the rise and fall of her chest.

"Mrs. Vanderbilt," she called softly, "Remy's here to see you. You're daughter." She turned to Remy and whispered quietly. "She doesn't respond well so don't get discouraged."

Remy nodded and closed the door behind her as she walked into her mother's room. She had put this visit off for far too long already. It had been almost two years since her father had died and almost two years since her mother had gone insane. It was high time that Remy come to make peace with her mother's condition.

She pulled out the chair from the room's desk and slid it so that she could sit facing her mom. Even as the chair made screeching noises as Remy pulled it across the floor, her mother still didn't look up from the windowsill.

"Mom?" Remy's voice was hesitant. "It's me."

Remy's mother didn't even shoot a glance towards her daughter, instead she started muttering to herself so quickly that Remy could only catch a few words here and there. Remy watched as her eyes glazed over and she started to wring her hands together. "Just… chicken… in the bloody… Cheshire cat—"

Remy reached out and grabbed her mother's hand, floored by the last words she'd caught. "Wait a second. What was that? Mom?"

Finally, her mother turned her head, looking at Remy as if she were seeing her for the first time. Her mother's warm brown eyes focused on her face and she smiled. "Hello Rachel."

Remy stiffened, pulling her hand out of her mother's cool grasp. "It's Remy, mom, my name is Remy. What was that about a Cheshire cat?"

Her mother smiled at her and nodded, as if she were just too cute, and then resumed staring out the window.

"Ma," Remy pleaded, tapping her mother on the shoulder. "What did you say about a Cheshire cat?"

She kept poking and prodding her mother's shoulder, but to no avail. Her mother didn't flinch, even as Remy waved her hand in front of her mother's face. She could've been catatonic for all Remy knew.

"She does that." The voice of the blonde nurse came in from the doorway. "Don't take it personally."

Remy nodded stiffly, putting the desk chair back in place and getting up. She looked back one last time, wondering how on earth her mother—who had been so vibrant and outgoing—had ended up like this.

Remy knew that she probably wouldn't come back for a long time. It was no use depressing herself over something that could never be fixed. Her mother could live out the rest of her days comfortably in the asylum and Remy wouldn't have to worry about her.

_Don't take it personally, _the nurse had said.

_Yeah right, _Remy scoffed, _she's my mother and she can't even remember my name. Of course I'm going to take it personally._

But her mom couldn't help it, and neither could Remy.

* * *

When Remy got home later that night, all she wanted to do was collapse into bed. The team had been given the day off from any training the next day, which meant Remy just had to meet up with Ares and do homework.

She could probably sleep in a little bit if she was lucky.

Thoroughly exhausted, Remy was about ready to pass out, but something stopped her in her tracks. On the kitchen counter there was a big white box with a red bow sitting next to the fruit bowl.

Suspicious immediately, Remy approached the box slowly, looking around for anyone who shouldn't have been in her apartment. She picked the box up and held it up to her ear, checking for any ticking. She shook it twice for good measure.

_Seems harmless. _Remy relented and pulled off the ribbon, opening the box.

Remy furrowed her brow as she pulled out a strapless burgundy leotard, black lace dancing around the edges of it. There was a pair of black fishnet tights and a black velour jacket accompanying the leotard, as well as a black bowtie and a pair of black stilettos.

Completely at a loss for words, Remy pulled all of these items out of the box, finding a note at the bottom.

_Remy, thought you could use some new digs. Hope you don't mind the subtle resemblance to my own. Love, Dinah._

Remy put the card down and slowly packed up the box, heading into her bedroom to finally get some sleep.


	12. Back at the Cave

Author's Note: So, anybody ready for some new episodes to come out? I sure am lol. Apparently it's only been a month since the shows been on hiatus, but it feels longer haha. Anyways, next chapter. I tried my hand at a bit of comedy. I sincerely hope it doesn't fail (: Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Back at the Cave

_Left jab. Duck. Slip the hook. Left jab, right jab, uppercut, left hook. Block. Slip the punch. Sweep the legs. Left hook. Right Uppercut. Block. Duck._

_ "Nice _outfit, Remy," Remy heard a whistle from behind her, momentarily distracting her from her sparring match with Superboy. She turned to glance at Wally and Robin who had just walked into the training room.

She felt Superboy's fist collide with her face, jarring her entire body as if she had been hit by a cement block. Remy was flung to the ground face first, clutching her cheek.

"Ow," she moaned, rolling over onto her back. "Shit, shit, shit."

_I knew training in my new costume would be a bad idea, _Remy mentally groaned.

In a second, Conner was kneeling beside her, a look of actual guilt on his normally expressionless face. Wally and Robin raced over to the two of them.

"I- I'm sorry," he said. "You normally slip all my punches, so I wasn't holding back as much."

"It's cool," Remy held up her hand and got to her feet. Her face was throbbing like no other. _I guess that's what happens when you fight the boy of steel, _Remy thought wryly. "I'll just need some ice."

Wally disappeared and in a flash—_haha, _Remy thought—he was back, holding an ice pack. She put it up to her gradually reddening face.

"How long have you guys been training?" Robin asked.

Remy glanced at the clock on the wall. "I've been here since six."

Wally whistled. "And I thought Artemis had no life."

Remy glared at him and scoffed, turning on her heel to storm out of the room. She was _so _not in the mood for this.

"Remy!" Robin called out. She turned her head and glanced back at the guys. "We actually just came to invite you to come out to the beach with the rest of the team. Seeing as we have a day off and all."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Remy said. "I'm busy." _With Chemistry, actually._

"With what?" Conner asked.

"Stuff," she shrugged. _More Chemistry._

"What kind of stuff?" Wally asked curiously.

"Stuff that's none of your business," Remy bit out. _And more Chemistry._

"Stuff that's more important than bonding with the team?" Robin raised his eyebrows.

"What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?" she asked.

"Well what is it?" Conner persisted, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice.

Remy cracked her knuckles, thoroughly annoyed at her male teammates. "If I tell you, will you leave me be?"

"Yes," the three of them chorused.

"I'm really far behind in Chemistry and I have to study for a big test that's coming up," Remy answered, dropping the bag of ice into the trash can. Her face wasn't throbbing so much anymore.

_Well that's a lie if I've ever seen one, _Remy thought. Science had never really been her thing, but with enough studying she felt she could at least earn a B in the class. Instead, she was working overtime for the Justice League and the League of Shadows in addition to going to one of the most academically rigorous private schools on the west coast. She'd already had to quit her job at the Yoga studio.

She definitely didn't have time to study for Chemistry.

"You need help with Chem?" Wally asked, not unkindly. "Because I'm sort of—"

"A science prodigy?" Remy raised her eyebrows and Wally nodded. "I'm aware." She walked over to the lockers on the side of the training room and opened hers up, shouldering her bag.

"Well do you want help or not?" Wally asked, laughing slightly.

"I don't need help," Remy shrugged. "I'm just really behind. I'm actually really good at Chem—"

Robin snickered, glancing down at his wrist computer. "Not according to your last couple of test results. Did you really put that _Kr _was the atomic symbol for Potassium?"

"You have access to my school records?" Remy's face reddened as she walked over to the boy wonder and yanked on his wrist to get a better look. Conner seemed to catch the angry look on Remy's face and quietly slipped out of the training room.

Robin pulled his arm away and scrolled down the page further, dancing out of Remy's grasp, laughing even harder as he showed his wrist screen to Wally.

"Oh _man,_" Wally snorted, "how do you not know that an atom is comprised of protons, neutrons and—_elentrons,_ seriously?—electrons." Wally turned to look at Robin. "What on earth is an _elentron?_"

"Beats me," Robin said laughing even louder.

Remy huffed, crossing her arms. "I can't be good at everything you know," she said snidely.

"_Elentrons?_ Really?" Wally grinned. Remy glared at him and started out of the training room. She stopped when she felt Wally's hand come down on her shoulder. "Relax, I'm just kidding. Not everyone's a science geek like me."

"Elentrons," Robin snickered, shaking his head as he passed by the two of them. "I'm goanna head down to the beach."

"Look it's, um, nice of you to offer or whatever," Remy said awkwardly, "but it's your day off and I don't want to ruin it.

_Another lie,_ Remy laughed inside her head. As if she actually cared whether or not Wally West had a nice day at the beach.

"I don't mind," he assured her. "We can work down on the beach and take breaks every once in a while. No big."

_To him its easy¸ _she thought, staring at the grinning speedster. He just stood there, waiting for her to say something. She could either spend the rest of the day on her own, sitting inside and reading her Chem book. Or she could soak up the sun while having total access to a science genius.

Wally was the only downside to the deal, she decided.

"You can even get rid of that farmer's tan," he joked after seeing her hesitation.

"Okay," Remy said, surprising even herself. "Just let me grab a suit."

* * *

The lights in her apartment were already turned on as Remy walked inside, her chemistry books piled into her arms. Her hair was still wet and salty-smelling from her day at the beach with the team and she'd at least gotten a little bit tanner. She did have a headache, however, from listening to Wally talk about all that science stuff. Remy sure wasn't stupid, but science was _not _her forte.

Still, it had been fun. Sort of. Not that Remy would ever admit that to anyone but herself.

Walking down the hallway to her apartment, she'd run into Roy on the way in and he had flirtatiously asked if she was up for a night of clubbing. Remy had simply responded that she definitely wasn't, because she was busy.

She set her books down on the counter, feeling pretty relaxed until she looked up and saw who was sitting—no _lounging—_on _her _couch.

"Ares?" she greeted hesitantly. He'd never come to her apartment before, at least not while she was there.

His face was carefully blank as he took in Remy's beach-toned appearance. "Did you have a _nice_ day, Remy?"

Remy measured his tone carefully. He didn't sound angry—after all why would he be?—but his neutral tone sounded forced. She shrugged, opening up the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "Sure, if you call studying for Chemistry nice."

She closed the fridge door, only to find Ares right next to her. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he hissed, shoving her up against the fridge, his hand closing around her neck.

"No," Remy snapped, slapping at his arm. "What are you doing? Put me down you fucker."

Ares threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Oh Remy. You're such a charmer. Is that why you think you can get away with laziness? Because I'm more _pleasant_ than Phase was? Because I seem like a _nice _assassin?"

"What the fuck is your problem?" Remy asked.

"I didn't give you more freedom to do your work so you could hang around at the beach with your sidekick buddies—"

"They're not my friends," Remy interrupted hotly.

"Shut up," Ares said, smacking her hard across the face. "Don't interrupt me when I'm talking to you."

"You have accomplished nothing in the time that you've been on the team," Ares sneered. "This venture has been a complete failure so far and the Sensei has been talking about cancelling your operation already."

"I've only been there a few weeks," Remy said exasperated. "What do you expect me to do? It takes time to gain these people's trust. I already gave you that toxin and—"

"It's not enough!" Ares growled, dropping Remy unceremoniously onto the floor. "I had to _beg_ the Shadows to continue the operation. I told them you could be trusted. But you're going soft on me, Roulette!"

"I can and I'm not," Remy babbled, rubbing her neck as she stood. "Just give me some more time."

Ares shoved a finger into her face. "You don't have the luxury of time. Our other operative on the team has already—"

"Other operative?" Remy asked, thinking back to what Batman had said to her that first night. _I've dealt with this kind of situation before._ "Is it Artemis?"

She was, logically, the best choice. The blonde archer was guarded, mysterious and very skilled in hand-to-hand combat. All of the other members of the team—save for Conner—had Justice League mentors that had been with them since day one. Artemis had only become Green Arrow's protégé in the recent months.

"You've just now figured that out?" Ares scoffed. "You're denser than I thought you were. Artemis has been feeding us solid information while you've been dancing around, going to a fancy prep school and making friends with the hero brigade."

Remy glared at him. "I'll do better."

"You had better because _if_ your operation gets cancelled," Ares warned. "_You _get cancelled as well. There won't even be a body left for your little friends to find."

"Understood," Remy nodded stiffly.

"Good," Ares smiled grimly. "Then let's take a walk."

* * *

The night air at Star City Regional Park was crisp and cool as Remy and Ares took their evening 'walk'. To any of the people passing by they might have seemed like a young couple, out for a late night stroll.

Except for the fact that Ares' grip on Remy's bicep was insanely tight as he forced her to keep up with his rapid walking pace.

They stopped off at the park fountain where there were only a few people wandering about. Some homeless people taking shelter for the night underneath the large oak trees and a woman in her late twenties, sketching something onto a pad of paper.

Ares forced Remy to sit beside him on the bench and slid a handgun over to her.

"What are you doing?" she whispered harshly, grabbing the gun and shoving it into her coat. She glanced around making sure no one had seen it.

"Teaching you a lesson," Ares said flatly. He pointed to a jogger that was currently making his way into the center of the park. "Shoot him and kill the witnesses."

Remy blanched. "What? Why?"

"Just do what I say," Ares said, through gritted teeth.

"But there's no reason for it," Remy protested, feeling sick to her stomach as the outline of the gun suddenly felt _very _hot inside of her jacket.

"Prove to me that you deserve my trust," he hissed, shoving her from behind.

She stumbled on her feet and grabbed the gun. The look on Ares' face did not change until the jogger was passing by already. Remy inhaled deeply and took out the gun.

She exhaled slowly as she aimed. She inhaled as the woman at the bench started to scream. She exhaled and released a shot into the back of the jogger's head.

Remy watched as his body dropped to the ground, completely motionless. Whirling around, she fired at the young woman on the bench, Remy's bullet hitting her square in the heart.

Two more shots were fired as Remy took out the homeless people who, just moments ago, were sleeping peacefully under the trees, minding their own business.

Remy swallowed as she turned to see Ares smiling proudly at her. It made her sick to her own stomach, disgusted that she had just _murdered_ four innocent people. On the whim of some psychotic assassin.

"Are you happy now?" she sneered.

"In fact ye—oh wait," Ares glanced pointedly at the young woman near the bench. She was still moving around little by little. "You missed the heart."

_This is all your fault,_ Remy reminded herself. Her face went carefully blank as she cocked the gun and walked over to the woman, putting a bullet in her head. The woman didn't even have time to scream.


	13. Darkness

Author's Note: Ahh sorry this was supposed to be up yesterday but the document manager wasn't letting me upload it. Luck number thirteen anyone? I mean wow my fic is finally a teenager! Lol sorry but I'm so excited (: I've really been dishing out these chapters huh? To be honest, it's because I'm waiting for my computer be taken away (I got a D on my math final and it totally screwed my grades). Sooo I'm trying to get as many chapters up as I can. I hope you enjoy!

To PockymunchingGod: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. Haha again I couldn't pm you so I have to respond here :p Don't feel bad about missing the reviews on the last chapters haha I have put them out quite quickly. Thanks for the reading and reviewing as always!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Darkness

Remy heard the familiar beeping of her alarm clock ringing in her ears. The room was in total darkness—_thank God for window shutters—_as she rolled over onto her stomach, smacking her hand down on the snooze button.

"Time to get up, Remy," a dark, stoic voice said not a moment later.

Remy jumped, immediately going for the knife she kept under her pillow. She relaxed once she saw who it was. "Oh, Batman. It's you."

"We need to talk," he said, opening up the blinds. Remy shielded her eyes from the rising sunlight. "Get dressed."

"Well good morning to you too," she sneered, hopping out of bed as the Dark Knight walked into her living room. Reluctantly, she stumbled to her dresser and threw on a pair of jeans and tank top.

Remy wondered what on earth Batman was doing here so early. Between Ares and Batman and Red Arrow, she was starting to get annoyed that people just kept on barging into her apartment. _I'd better change the locks,_ Remy thought. Not that it would ever keep someone like Batman out, but it would help her peace of mind.

These days, Remy wasn't sure if she was even sane anymore. They did say that insanity ran in the family… and she had killed four people last night. That wasn't even a _dent_ in her total body count. Remy was, by definition, a serial killer. A psychotic one too, probably, just like Ares.

"Now, Remy," Batman growled from the other side of her bedroom door.

Remy took a deep breath and walked in to the other room, surprised to find that Artemis was sitting at her breakfast nook, a file folder in her hands.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Remy asked, narrowing her eyes at Batman. She and Artemis had always been on rather rocky terms, teetering on the edge of civility and an all-out fist fight. This early in the morning, finding Batman and the blonde archer in her kitchen was _not _a welcome sight.

"_She _is here to save your ass," Artemis sneered. "You could stand to be a little more grateful."

"You've got to be kidding me with this," Remy scoffed, looking from Batman to Artemis. "Listen blondie, the only possible way _you _could help _me_ is by getting out. Now."

Artemis jumped to her feet, waving her clenched fist in the air. "You're such a bitch. Do you know what—"

"Calm down," Batman ordered, looking at the both of them. "Sit. Both of you."

Remy huffed, clenching her fists and took a seat at her dining room table, far away from Artemis. The two shot glares at each other as Batman took a seat on Remy's living room couch. It was strange to see him this way, in his full crime-fighting garb, in _her _living room while she and Artemis were both in civvies.

"It's come to my attention, Remy," Batman said, turning towards her, "that you murdered four people in the park two nights ago."

Remy started. "I—How did you know that? Ares said—"

"They stuck you with Ares?" Artemis raised her eyebrows and scoffed. "That guy's a total dick."

"You know—" Remy was cut off by the dark knight.

"I've been having you tailed for quite some time now," Batman said flatly.

Remy glared at him. "Because you don't trust me?"

"Yes," he stated simply. "I took a risk putting you on the team and I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the reward. So far, you haven't been able to offer us any useful information."

"Because they don't tell me anything!" Remy snapped. "I'm just there weapon, a tool that they use to kill people."

"You're definitely a tool," Artemis muttered.

Red hot anger boiled underneath Remy's skin, ready to completely explode. Remy started to her feet. "I swear to God, I will smear the walls with you, bitch!"

"Bring it on," Artemis taunted. "I'm sure you'd enjoy killing me. Like you killed those innocent bystanders."

"That's enough!" Batman barked. "You two are teammates! And you've got a lot more in common than you think."

Remy nodded. "Oh, I know. Blondie over there is the other Shadow's operative."

"You already knew?" Batman raised his eyebrows as Artemis blanched.

Remy scoffed, walking over to the breakfast nook. She leaned down onto her forearm studying Artemis' pale face. "Of course I did. Do you think I'm stupid?"

She considered telling Batman that Artemis was feeding most of the team's most necessary information to the Shadows, but thought better of it. She could store that away for later as potential blackmail.

"If you think you can kill four people and get away with it, then yes," Batman said flatly. "If someone were to find out that you're working for the League _and_ you killed those people, it would reflect badly on us. We do _not _need to deal with the press firestorm and the public outrage right now."

"What was I supposed to do?" Remy demanded. "Ares broke into my apartment, cornered me and threatened to cancel me if I didn't." Batman stayed silent as waited for Remy to finish. "He told me the Shadows weren't happy with me. Said I hadn't given them anything and that they were going to pull the plug."

"I had to do it," Remy said quietly. "They're going to kill me if I don't come up with something."

Batman rubbed his chin, thinking on this for a moment, before pulling a thumb drive out of his utility belt. "Luckily I planned for this. Give Ares the information on a 'top secret'—by this I mean closed down—Justice League facility in the Brazil. I'll make sure there's something for him to find."

Remy blew out a breath, taking the thumb drive from him. "Thank you then."

"Next time this happens," Batman said flatly. "You call, before you go on a shooting rampage!"

"Fine," Remy muttered. "I'll figure it out."

"Good," the dark knight nodded. "Now onto business."

Remy blanched. "Sorry? _That _wasn't business?"

"Nope," Artemis smiled grimly. "You and me get to go on a mission together. It's going to be _so _much fun, don't you think?"

"Cut the attitude, Artemis," Batman growled.

"I am _not_ going on a mission with her!" Remy snapped.

"Oh like _you're_ little miss sunshine!" Artemis countered.

"For the last time," Batman thundered, "that's enough." Remy and Artemis quieted down, staring at the dark knight challengingly.

"I'm sending you two to Bhutan," he continued, seeing that the two teenagers had shut up. "Artemis has promised that she can get both of you into the headquarters at Ghankar Puensum."

"You mean like the main headquarters of the League of Shadows?" Remy asked, turning to Artemis. The blonde nodded and Remy let out a low whistle. "How are you going to finagle that?"

"I have connections," Artemis said smugly. "Trust me we'll get in. And that should make _your _life a ton easier. Ares will lay off once we get back."

Remy nodded, unsure of what she meant by that. She glanced at Batman. "What's the point of this mission exactly? Recon?"

"You'll be inducted as a full member to the League of Shadows," Batman said, his voice hollow, "as will Artemis. The both of you should finally be given top level clearance. What exactly that means, none of us our sure."

"Wait a second," Remy held up a hand, looking at Artemis. "If you're not a full member than how are you feeding the JLA info about the Shadows?"

"Like I said, I have connections," Artemis smirked, glancing down her nose at Remy. "_I _am the only reason we were even sponsored for membership this early. It's highly rare that we would be given the opportunity to become full members this early on."

Remy had to physically fight the urge to slap that smug expression off of her face.

Batman wandered dangerously close to Remy, forcing her to take a step back. He stared at her, studied her before doing the same to Artemis.

"You two don't have to like each other," Batman said flatly, "but you're hands down the most skilled members of the team. You may not be friends, but you're comrades." Batman stepped away from both of them, heading for the window. He opened up the window and stepped out onto the balcony.

Pausing, he turned back and faced the girls. "Once you reach Bhutan, I won't be able to help you. If you're ever in doubt, trust each other."

Remy sat there silent as Batman disappeared into the gradually rising sun. _Always so dramatic._

She walked over and shut the window, locking it firmly in place. Turning around, she saw that Artemis had already gotten to her feet, clearly deciding she'd had enough of Remy's apartment.

"I should probably head out," she said gruffly. She waved the file folder Remy had seen earlier and set it down on the breakfast nook. "That's your flight information and a general rundown of what to expect when we get to Bhutan. I'll meet you at JFK tomorrow morning."

"Of course," Remy said curtly, "see you."

Artemis nodded and simply walked out the front door, her hands awkwardly stuffed into her jacket pockets. She secretly wondered how the girl was going to get home, but then remembered she _was_ Green Arrow's protégé and as such, she also had access to the League transporter in Star City.

Remy sighed as she locked the door behind the archer. She walked over and flopped down onto her couch.

Batman had told them to trust each other. But how could she do that when she wasn't even sure if Artemis really _was _a good guy or if she was just pretending to be a double agent, but was really working for the Shadows? Then again, if Artemis was thinking the exact same thing about Remy, Artemis could be pretending to pretend that she's a double agent that was really working for the shadows to bait Remy into showing off her "true colors."

Remy sighed, rubbing her temples. This line of thinking was starting to make her head hurt.

* * *

She rapped on the door three times, silently praying to whatever God there was, that this would be as painless as possible.

A few seconds later, a sleepy Roy Harper opened the door, wearing nothing but his boxers and a black t-shirt. "Well _hello_ there, Miss Remy."

"Nice outfit," Remy smirked. "I see you're rocking the "just rolled out of bed" look at—" Remy checked the time, "—three in the afternoon."

Roy grinned and opened up the door, gesturing for Remy to go in.

"I'll stay out here, thanks," Remy said, recalling the last time she had gone into Roy's apartment. "I actually just came to ask for a quick favor."

"Did you now?" Roy waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "It is goanna cost you."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask," Remy protested.

"Yeah but you already owe me for the ride the other day," he smirked.

"He couldn't have just taken the gas money." Remy sighed, nodding reluctantly. "Look I'm heading out of town and I just need someone to check in on the apartment once a day and water my bamboo tree. Think you can handle it?"

Roy seemed to think about this for a moment. "Sure. Where you headed?"

"Asia," Remy stated vaguely.

"Whereabouts?" Roy pressed.

"Southern Asia. Bhutan," she clarified, deciding there was no harm in telling Roy where she was going. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone but I'll try and let you know when I'm coming back. My cell number is on the fridge if you need to call."

Remy dropped her house key into his hand and turned to leave but stopped as Roy brought his hand down on her shoulder. "Hey you still owe me."

Remy tapped her foot impatiently. "What is it that you want?"

"Dinner tonight at seven?" Roy smiled smugly. "I know this—"

"Can't," Remy rolled her eyes. "I have to get to Gotham tonight. My flight leaves tomorrow and I've got to finish packing. When I get back, however, fine. Dinner it is." Truthfully, she had to meet Ares for an early dinner to discuss her upcoming trip.

"I'll hold you to it, Remy," he warned, grinning lasciviously.

"Oh believe me, I know," Remy muttered turning on her heel, leaving a grinning Roy behind her.

* * *

"I am impressed Remy," Ares murmured, seated across from her. "You and Artemis are making the journey to Bhutan to become full-fledged members. It came as a shock to me when I heard you were being sponsored for membership this early."

"I still don't trust her," Remy muttered, breaking off a piece of bread from the basket. "She said she had connections to the Shadows which is why she's—I don't know—_seemingly _more important than I am."

"Artemis is a—" Ares struggled for the right word. "She's in a precarious position within the Shadows."

"Well?" Remy raised her eyebrows. "Explain."

"You'll discover the truth soon enough," Ares mused. "The journey one takes to become a full-fledged Shadow is one of enlightenment." Seeing Remy's irritated expression he rolled his eyes. "The best advice I can give you is not to trust anyone when you reach Bhutan."

"Even Artemis," Remy clarified, "who just a few nights ago, you said I should look to as an example."

"The man who sponsored yourself and Artemis for membership will favor her strongly over you," Ares explained. "Artemis has been in league with your sponsor for a very long time." He paused, sipping his water before studying her closely. "The other Shadows are not to be trusted. They'll recognize as you an initiate and seek to influence the outcome of your trials."

"Well this is both very cryptic and helpful," Remy sneered. "Any other _wise _words you'd like to leave me with?"

Ares shook his head, a small smile on his handsome face. "None except for good luck."


	14. Journey

Author's Note: In this chapter… Remy and Artemis team up. Sort of. You'll see (: I am finishing this in the car ride to Sacramento, since I have absolutely nothing else to do. We just passed Bakersfield and let me tell you… I will never live on a farm. It's crazy boring looking… no offense to those who lives on farms. Anyways, here's the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Journey

There were too many people at the airport. Remy had never particularly hated crowds, but neither had she enjoyed being a part of one. The airport in New York had been a complete cluster fuck since Remy had gotten there. It had been raining when she'd taken a cab to the airport and, following the usual pattern, that added an extra fifteen minutes of sitting in traffic to her drive. Then, she'd had to figure out a way to get her weapons inside the gate without alerting the entirety of airport security. And finally, once she'd gotten through security, she'd managed to get stuck behind _the _most sloth like idiots on the planet, which had made her late in arriving at the airport diner to meet Artemis.

"I see you took your sweet time getting here," Artemis smiled wryly as Remy slid in across from her. Her tone was sarcastic, but not to the point of outright insolence.

"It's just one of those days," Remy muttered, rolling her eyes. If Remy weren't so damn tired, maybe she would've snapped back.

"Tell me about it," Artemis agreed. "My mother held me up for an extra twenty minutes this morning—luckily I planned for that—telling me to be careful andyou know all that mother stuff."

Remy nodded slightly. "Traffic was a bitch."

Artemis nodded and the two girls sat in silence until a waiter came over to take their breakfast orders. It seemed that neither of them was willing to start a fight this early in the morning.

Remy thought it strange to be sitting here with Artemis. Sure, they were teammates, but Remy thought Artemis was a complete and total bitch. She was also aware of the fact that Artemis probably thought the same of her. It was a cycle. To be sitting with her in such a casual and civilian setting—where they couldn't solve their problems with their fists—was just plain awkward.

After their food arrived, the pair ate in silence, making small talk about the weather and such things.

"We should probably head for the gate." Remy glanced down at her watch. They had fifteen minutes until the flight.

Artemis nodded and the two made their way for the airplane.

* * *

Five hours into their flight, Remy's patience was wearing thin.

Upon entering the plane, the pair had been informed that they were being upgraded to first class, a welcome announcement considering the flight to London was so long. Unfortunately for both Artemis and Remy, their two seats were in the back of the cabin and the chairs in front of them faced back towards them as well.

Remy had come to hate this little four people air plane pod very much.

Possibly, the most irritating and pig-like business men were seated across from them in their Armani suits.

Currently, the taller, more muscular one was droning about his house in the Hamptons and it had just about put Remy to sleep. His name was Theodore which Remy thought was a crime in and of itself.

"I didn't think it was humanly possible to have _that _much gel in your hair," Artemis whispered.

She sent a sideways glance towards Artemis, whose expression mirrored her own. Remy rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seat belt, pulling her legs up into half lotus.

"—and that's when I decided it was time to fire Madeline," the man said smugly. "I mean she really was a horrible housekeeper. Looked good in a skirt though." He smirked turning to his shorter—and slightly balding friend named Joshua—and shared a conspiratorial look.

"Well that's just fascinating," Remy said, fixing Theodore with a bored look, as she got up from her seat "but if you'll excuse me…"

"And me," Artemis said hopping up from the window seat, on Remy's heels as they made their way towards the bathroom in the first class cabin.

Remy was glad to see the sign said vacancy and opened it up, gesturing for Artemis to go in first. Glancing back quickly to make sure she wasn't seen, Remy stepped into the small cubicle.

"Oh thank God." Remy blew out a sigh. "That was getting ridiculous."

"I can't believe it," Artemis muttered, putting down the toilet seat cover. She sat and fixed Remy with a glare. "It's bad enough that I'm stuck with you. But those douches? It's even worse."

Remy hopped up onto the sink and yawned. "You're oddly hostile, all things considered."

Artemis scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean."

"Like you don't know. I know that you've been feeding pertinent information to the Shadows about our missions," Remy said flatly. "And _not _the bullshit kind of info Batman handed me to pass off to Ares. _Real_ mission information. I know that _you're _the one who told the Shadows that the team would be in Bialya and that's how they knew to expect you all."

Artemis gaped at Remy, her mouth hanging open unattractively. Seeing the superior look on Remy's face, she quickly snapped it shut, collecting herself. "Don't pull the high and mighty act with me Remy. I know that _you _are the one who handed that Theta toxin to the Shadows. I _saw _you pull it out of your boot after the debrief."

Remy was silent then. "_You're _the one so tied up with the Shadows that you got _Sportmaster _of all people to sponsor us for membership. How do you explain that one?'

Artemis sneered. "Hold on a minute here! _I'm _not the one who went on a shooting rampage in the park the other night. So which one of us is _really_ tied up with the Shadows."

"Ugh," Remy groaned as someone knocked on the bathroom door. _This _so _wasn't the place to be having this conversation._ "This isn't the place. We can discuss this when we get off the plane."

"Fine," Artemis growled, standing up. Remy hopped off the sink and unlocked the bathroom door to find an irritated old flight attendant.

"Only one person is allowed in the restroom at a time," she informed Remy, throwing a withering glance at both she and Artemis.

"We don't swing that way lady," Artemis snorted, pushing past Remy and the flight attendant, walking back to their seats.

She rolled her eyes at the flight attendant and followed the blonde back to their seats. Theodore and Joshua had ordered drinks for them apparently.

"Glad to see you're back ladies," Joshua grinned. "We ordered some _refreshments, _on me of course."

Remy scowled at the blonde as she slid in next to her as she watched Artemis covertly check the drink for poison, before taking a long swig.

"That's not non-alcoholic," Remy informed her.

The blonde's eyes widened and she spit it out immediately, coughing and sputtering. She glared at the two men. "That's it. We're underage you asshole."

Theodore's face contorted into a slightly disturbed expression. Joshua didn't look surprised, merely annoyed.

"Can you say jailbait?" Remy asked.

Joshua groaned and smacked Theodore on the arm, whispering quickly to him. Remy caught the words "told you so" and "idiot."

"Sorry _girls_," Theodore said, putting emphasis on the age-tinged word. "Our mistake."

"We'll forget it if you just shut up for the rest of the flight." Remy smiled wryly, glancing at Artemis before adding, "We're on business."

* * *

"God I forgot how cold it is here," Artemis muttered, watching as her breath dissipated into the air.

Remy had to admit that it was cold. No, not just cold. It was _ridiculously_ cold. She pulled her black coat tighter around her, though it did little to help the cold she felt seeping into her bones. Remy definitely missed California at that moment. Even if she had to be neighbors with Roy Harper.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Remy asked Artemis, the irritation returning to her voice.

On top of the biting cold, Remy was aware of the fact that she would have to stick with Artemis for an extended period of time while they were in Bhutan. That being said, she did not feel like talking to Artemis after spending almost twenty four hours straight with the girl.

Of course, it would've been a hell of a lot easier for Remy and Artemis to get along if the both of them weren't expecting a stab in the back from each other.

"This is Uvenk," Artemis explained to Remy as they walked through the small village. Tiny huts cluttered the area around them, however, none of the inhabitants seemed to be outside. It was probably too cold, even for them. "This village has been here since the Shadows first congregated hundreds of years ago."

"So you've been here before?" Artemis glared at Remy and huffed, ignoring the question.

"Our contact's hut is just up ahead," Artemis pointed to the last hut on the outer edge of the village. It sat at the base of the mountain, somehow separate and different looking from the other huts nearby.

Artemis rapped on the hut door three times and she stared at Remy out of the corner of her eye. "Advice? Let me do the talking. No offense, but you don't know what we're doing."

"And you do? You've never—" Remy was cut off as small eye slit was opened through the door.

"_Vahām̐ kauna jātā hai?"_ a male voice asked. Remy recognized the language as Hindi but could not make out more than the word _who. "Aura tuma kyōṁ ā'ē hō?"_

"Artemis _aura _Remy. _Hama prakāśa kī talāśa," _Artemis answered back, her tongue rolling over the syllables expertly.

The eye slit closed as Remy turned to Artemis. "What'd he say?"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "He wanted to know who we were and what we wanted. I answered that we were seeking the light. It's the key word that gets us in, basically."

Remy nodded as the wooden door to the hut swung open, revealing an older-looking— although Remy thought he looked _ancient _—man who probably only measured up to her shoulder.

"Artemis," he greeted with a bow. The blonde returned the bow, her hands resting at Namaste—a position Remy knew well from yoga. "And you?"

"Remy," she answered, bowing as Artemis had. _Thank god he's speaking English now, _Remy thought to herself.

"I am Hareesh. Come in please," the man said gruffly, "I have no wish to delay you on your journey."

Artemis pushed past Remy, entering into the hut, her stride confident. Hareesh shut the door behind them and Remy was instantly grateful as she found a large fire pit in the center of the hut. It dominated the center of the room and Remy was immediately struck by how bare the hut was. Save for a stove and a pile of blankets she assumed to be a bed, the hut was completely empty. A small pile of books sat on top of a wooden chest next to the bed.

"I guess he's into minimalism?" Remy muttered to Artemis.

The blonde shushed her, pointing at Hareesh who was making his way over to the pile of books. He shoved them off and they fell into the floor in a clutter.

As he opened the chest, he waved Artemis and Remy over. "Come closer girls."

They obliged and walked closer to Hareesh who had taken out two sets of heavy black clothing sets, held together by a gold chain adorned with a medium sized pendant.

"Change into these," Hareesh instructed, handing a set to each girl, "and leave all of your belongings behind. You may collect them if you return. I will avert my eyes." On cue, Hareesh made and about face and stared at the wall as the girls started changing.

_Hold up,_ Remy thought, fingering the clothes. If_ we return?_ Remy shared a loaded look with Artemis as she slipped on the black pants. Surely, the journey to the Shadows base of operations couldn't be _that _dangerous. Remy and Artemis were perfectly capable to handle anything that hit them, so there was no reason for Remy to be worried.

That didn't stop her of course. She would be cautious once they reached the Shadows, as Ares had advised.

"Even our weapons?" Remy whispered, pulling her shirt on.

"Chill out," Artemis whispered, "you can keep your stupid knives. I'm sure as hell not relinquishing _all _of my possessions." She yanked her shirt on and turned to Hareesh before tucking the medallion into her suit. Remy followed suit, feeling the cold metal slide against her chest. "We're decent Hareesh."

The man turned to them and glanced at their attire. _Does he think we're incapable of putting our clothes on? _Remy snorted.

"Forgive me," he said, walking towards the door. "I must retrieve your shoes and headwear. Wait here." With that, the old man disappeared out into the snowy village, the door of his hut swinging closed behind him.

"Is this normal procedure?" Remy demanded quietly, warming her hands by the fire before deciding to put her gloves on.

Artemis was fiddling with the hood on the back of her black suit before glancing over at Remy. "How the hell should I know? I've never witnessed the membership rites myself "You said I should follow your lead," Remy said flatly.

Artemis pulled the hood up and followed by wrapping the black scarf around her neck and up to cover her mouth and nose. "You should put your hood on. We'll be hiking up the mountain."

Remy sighed, pulling the hood up and wrapping her scarf around her neck as Artemis had done so.

Hareesh chose that moment to return, his arms full of black leather boots and furry winter hats. He set them at the feet of Remy and Artemis and nodded approvingly at their clothing.

"Put those on quickly and you may depart," Hareesh informed them.

Remy took her time lacing up the boots, as she did not want Hareesh to see her stuff her knife into the side of her new boot. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Artemis doing the same.

"Come, come," Hareesh beckoned for them to follow him out of his hut. "You must make decent progress before nightfall or you will starve on the mountain."

Remy turned to Artemis, who shrugged and the two of them followed Hareesh out into the freezing cold to the foothills of the mountain. Bending over, he plucked two blue flowers—Remy recognized them as the flower typically associated with the Shadows—and handed one to both Artemis and Remy.

"Journey to the top of the mountain," Hareesh told them, "and deliver the flower to the Shadows. You will find what you're looking for there if you can manage to survive the elements."

Remy and Artemis stared at each other as Hareesh left the two of them. Remy shrugged and yanked her fur hat on, watching the old man return to his hut. She secretly wondered why _he _had been chosen as a sort of gatekeeper for the Shadows. He didn't seem particularly extraordinary, as far as Remy could tell.

Then again, as she considered Artemis, neither she nor Artemis seemed particularly extraordinary either. And appearances were most oftentimes very deceiving.

"At the risk of this sounding like a total cliché," Remy started, glancing up at the mountain, "we've got work to do."

* * *

Two days. Two days trekking up the mountain in a blizzard without food or water. Without anything except for the weird black ninja suits Hareesh had given to them.

"We should stop for the night," Artemis panted, turning back from their trail to look at Remy. "It's going to be especially cold tonight. I can feel it."

Remy nodded, feeling her stomach grumble, reminding her of the fact that she hadn't eaten since the airplane ride to Bhutan. Remy wasn't exactly a huge eater—keeping her frame lithe and small was essential to her fighting style—but even she would feel the pain of starvation.

And she was _definitely _feeling it now.

Remy and Artemis sought shelter in the back of a cave, a little further up the trail they were on.

Shivering, Remy curled her legs into herself and sat against the wall, across from Artemis. "How much further do you think we have?"

"Not that much farther," Artemis said, wrapping her arms around herself. "If we get up when the sun is rising and climb like there's no tomorrow, we might make it to the top by nightfall."

"That's good because I think I might drop dead of dehydration." Remy coughed, rubbing her hands together. "This has to be the worst conditions I've ever lived in."

Artemis scoffed. "Try growing up like this."

Remy stared at the blonde archer. "You grew up here?"

Artemis looked away hastily, snagged. "Well not exactly—you know what? No—I hate all this touchy-feely crap." Remy laughed, eliciting a harsh glare from the archer.

"Did I ask _you _about your past?" she hissed.

"No need to flip out," Remy snorted. "You're the one who made the comment. I just asked a follow-up question."

Artemis groaned. "Whatever."

Remy rolled her eyes and took to staring at the ceiling of the cave. Icicles hung just above their heads, some of them looking as if they were about to fall right on top of the both of them. _If I should be so lucky,_ Remy thought placidly.

"Death by icicle is actually very common," Artemis said out loud suddenly.

Remy stared at Artemis, disbelief clear in her eyes. "Right. And Bruce Wayne is my father."

Artemis shot her a dirty look. "Have you ever thought about capping the sarcasm every once in a while? It's so irritating."

"Oh _I'm_ the irritating one?" Remy raised her eyebrows. "You're the one who drops cryptic little hints about her past and the never bothers to explain them to her _teammates_. I think it's safe to say that it's because you're ashamed."

"Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Artemis smirked, standing up in her spot. "You've pushed _every_one on the team away from you. No wonder you don't have any friends."

"Oh and you're so popular?" Remy scoffed. "Last time I checked, everyone besides M'gann _tolerates _you."

Artemis smiled wryly. "Just like they tolerate you? Might be hard in a couple of years when you start going cuckoo."

Remy narrowed her eyes at Artemis. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh I think you know," Artemis said, glancing down her nose at Remy. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I followed you one night after training. To the asylum. I have to admit, I was a little surprised to find out that your _mother_ was stashed in the loony bin. From what I've heard of your family, they were picture perfect before that horrendous fire."

"What makes you think you would know anything about my family?" she demanded hotly. "You don't know me."

Artemis continued as if Remy hadn't said anything. "They told me why she's in there. She suffers from horribly vivid delusions. I _even _heard she tried to stab her only daughter, blaming her for that fire that killed her husband."

Remy let out a feral scream and lunged for Artemis pinning her to the ground. Artemis laughed, not even bothering to struggle. Remy let her fists fly, hitting Artemis over and over again until she had drawn blood from Artemis. A small cut had opened up next to Artemis' eye, a small river of blood beginning to slide down her face.

Chest heaving, Remy got off of Artemis and returned to her previous seat. She watched as Artemis sat herself up.

"Feel better?" Artemis raised her eyebrows.

"Information concerning my family is _none _of your business," Remy hissed. "But yes, I do feel better now."

"Good," Artemis nodded, "because if we both want to make it out of this alive. We're going to have to make peace with each other to a certain extent. Now you know that I know about your family, it's all good."

"Okay, what the hell?" Remy demanded. "Are you bipolar? One minute you're goading me into a fight and _now _you want to work together? What's the deal?"

Artemis smirked. "I'm not bipolar, I just move on quickly." She rolled her head to the side, stretching out her neck, before fixing Remy with a languid gaze. "So, we good now?

"We're not even close," Remy sneered. "You looked into my past without my permission and I still know _nothing _about you."

"You haven't earned the right to that information," Artemis said coldly. "Besides there are still a lot of questions I have for you."

"And you never earned the right to mine," Remy countered.

Artemis and Remy stared at each other, both measuring each other's emotions. Remy on the one hand was furious, at Artemis for finding the most shameful thing about her and at herself for leaving herself open to this kind of personal attack.

Ares had been right. Remy _was _going soft, getting sloppy.

Artemis broke the silence first, wiping the blood off of her face. "It would seem we've reached an impasse."

"Apparently," Remy said.

"Then let's make a deal." Artemis sat forward. "We make it through this. _Together._ And then we work out our issues. Familial and otherwise."

Remy narrowed her eyes. Artemis' body language said that she was being truthful, but in her heart Remy knew there was absolutely _no _reason for her to trust Artemis. It would be foolhardy.

Nevertheless, Remy leaned forward and shook hands with the archer, sealing the deal.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry, another one. Well, there it is. Why Remy never visits her mother, maybe why she's so stand-offish. Whatever you want to believe it reveals about Remy. Hope you enjoyed.


	15. The Trials

Author's Note: Chapter fifteen here (: I don't know why but that just seems like a milestone haha. Maybe I'm just happy I've stuck with a story for this long… but whatever (: Either way, you guys get another update out of it! This one is a bit longer than most of my chapters and also a quick warning… it gets pretty graphic with the violence so beware. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

Chapter Fifteen: The Trials

* * *

Remy could see the top of the mountain rapidly approaching, but she could not bring herself to find any joy in this fact.

Her legs felt heavy and her very core was frozen solid. Her throat was bone dry and her lips were on fire from the raging winds of the mountain. Her stomach had felt so painfully empty on the way up the mountain that her hunger was now a dull thud in the pit of her stomach. One look at Artemis, confirmed that the archer was equally as miserable, however that did nothing to alleviate her own pain.

"Just twenty more—" Artemis' body was racked with coughing as she doubled over.

Remy moved over to the archer and righted her once more. "Don't quit on me now."

Together the two of them moved slowly towards the small wooden village on the top of the mountain. Flickering lights could be seen from the windows and the smell of raw meat cooking over an open fire spurred Remy on.

She approached the first building, pulling her flower out of clothing. Her body shaking from the effort, she raised a hand to knock on the solid wooden door. Beside her, Artemis held herself up with the help of the wall.

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a relatively small Asian man. He wore an elaborate costume consisting of an ancient chines pattern.

He raised one thin eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Sensei," Artemis said, bowing as best as she could. She presented him with her blue flower and waited as Remy did the same. The girls stood awkwardly in front of him and waited for him to say something, to take initiative in the conversation.

Remy shivered, wincing as that very movement taxed her exhausted body. "M-may we come in?"

He raised the other eye brow, but nevertheless stepped aside.

"All you had to do was ask." The two girls shuffled into the house, thankful for the shelter from the raging snowstorm.

"It is good to see you again, Artemis," the 'Sensei' said. He gestured towards a wooden table where two steaming mugs of tea and a plate full of food sat. "Sit, please."

Remy and Artemis were happy to oblige and immediately dove for their food. Remy moaned in pleasure as she felt the warm liquid of the chai tea slide down her throat, warming her to the core.

"Thank you, uh—"

"I am Sensei," he answered, gruffly. "Address me as such, Remy Vanderbilt."

"So—" Remy paused as she released a series of coughs, "—you know who I am?"

"Don't let it go to your head," Artemis muttered, stuffing a bread roll down her throat.

Remy shot her a look and turned her attention back to Sensei. He studied her for a moment before seeming to decide something. "You both are clearly not yourselves. I _had _planned on discussing the details of your membership trials tonight, but I can see it will do no good. The explanation that Raz will give you must be sufficient."

"Well we—" Artemis interjected.

Sensei cut her off. "You two may finish your meal and head to your room assignments. Artemis, your usual quarters still remain intact."

Remy raised her eyebrows at this. Artemis had _definitely _been here before. Maybe many times before that. As far as Remy was concerned, that was to Artemis' advantage—definitely not her own.

In a place where Remy had absolutely _no _allies, that was not a welcome thought.

"Show Remy to Cheshire's quarters," the Sensei said, "at your convenience. We will begin tomorrow at dawn. Until then."

The resounding door slam grated on Remy's sensitive ears as the Sensei left.

"Aren't these his quarters?" Remy asked Artemis. The blonde archer merely nodded, greedily gulping down more of her tea.

Remy had to admit he was more pleasant than what she had been expecting. She'd heard rumors about the man called Sensei. Generally, he was known as brutal, relentless and even somewhat cruel. It _was _the League of Shadows after all. Had Remy been born a Shadow and trained with them her whole life—as Artemis might have done—she probably would've been well acquainted with the Sensei.

"Don't hurt yourself thinking too hard," Artemis interrupted, glancing at Remy's face.

Remy shot her a look and went back to her plate of food. "When he said Cheshire he _meant_ the—"

"Yeah, _the _Cheshire," Artemis said grimly, her expression strained. "You're being assigned to her."

"Assigned?" Remy raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Artemis said, "she'll watch out for you while you're here. Teach you stuff. Kind of like a mentor, except she'd sooner kill you than help you."

"You have a mentor?" Remy asked idly.

"Sort of," Artemis said irritably. "Sportsmaster, I guess. It's complicated."

"Complicated," Remy said slowly. "Right."

Artemis shot her a look, scoffing. "Look just—don't trust Cheshire. Sleep with one eye open, if you catch my drift."

Remy snorted. "Seriously?"

"Does it look like I'm joking?" she said flatly.

"Not at all," Remy snorted, "but from what I've heard of the team's previous missions, you've got a personal vendetta because she got—" Remy stopped suddenly, her eye lighting up. "You let her go!"

Artemis said nothing, stabbing at the food on her plate with a little too much vigor.

Remy clapped her hands together. "Oh that's really rich. You let her go, because you _had _to. Fellow member and all that jazz? That's really, really great."

Artemis allowed her fork to clang onto the plate as she stood up from her chair, swaying slightly as she did. "Let's just go. We're going to need some rest. I'll show you to Cheshire's place."

* * *

Cheshire was waiting for them, seated in a lotus position on the floor, her back to them. "Roulette, Artemis, welcome."

"I'm out," Artemis announced, physically shoving Remy further into Cheshire's apartment. "Remember what I said."

Artemis slammed the door on her way out, eliciting a chuckle from the seated woman. Slowly, Cheshire stood and turned to face Remy, a smirk on the Asian woman's face.

"I've been waiting a long time to meet you." Cheshire's voice was sleek and silky, almost _too _smooth, Remy thought.

Remy stood, her back to the door and her arms folded. "Roulette," she said, sticking out her hand. "You've heard of me?"

Cheshire chuckled shaking her hand. "You and Artemis have been a matter of discussion among the Shadows recently." The older woman walked closer to Remy—too close for Remy's taste—and took a strand of hair in between her fingers. "So young and already making great strides. It's impressive really." Her lips turned upward. "Reminds me of myself."

Remy stepped aside, out of the woman's grasp and smirked slightly. "It can't have been too long since you were my age."

Cheshire threw her head back and laughed. "Good answer." She continued to advance upon Remy. Suspiciously, Remy backed away. "What s Artemis been whispering into your ear about me?"

"Nothing," Remy shrugged, "much except that she knows you."

"Good." Cheshire narrowed her eyes, but stopped walking. "I can teach you a lot while you're here. Artemis was raised to be a Shadow; you're just a street fighter who was fortunate enough to have parents that paid for karate."

"It works well enough for me," Remy snapped.

Cheshire inclined her head and the two stood a short distance away from the other, measuring each other. "But do you know Krav Maga? Jujitsu? I can teach it all to you, and more."

Remy scoffed. "And you'll do this out of the goodness of your heart I suppose?"

"You're very astute." Cheshire grinned, her brown eyes shiningly menacingly. "That's wonderful. My last pupil was dumb as stone; I was forced to kill him." She clasped her hands. "But you, I think _you _will be the one to help solve this problem I have with Sportsmaster and his petulant little girl."

Remy raised her eyebrows. "Sportsmaster has a daughter?"

Cheshire smiled, predatorily. "I believe you're well acquainted with her. She goes by the name of Artemis."

* * *

"The trials are designed to test your physical and mental endurance," Cheshire explained, as they headed for the training grounds. "They are designed to reduce your to your basest human emotions, to teach you to funnel all the undesirables such as fear out of your body. Teach you to channel rage, anger, hate and ruthlessness into something you can use. Some of them, will simply test your pain tolerance. Do _not _make the mistake of underestimating the tests."

Remy nodded, silently taking all this in. Five years ago, she would've never believed that she would be in this place. It was almost mindboggling to her.

Cheshire smirked. "They'll pit you against each other. You and Artemis. Trust me when I say that _you _are the one who has to come out on top. You don't have Daddy Sportsmaster to bail you out if you fail. She does."

"Got it," Remy sighed, stifling a yawn. She hadn't been able to get more than a couple of hours of sleep, thanks to Artemis' little cryptic warning and Cheshire's incessant need to watch over her.

It was disturbing to say the least, when she simply sat in a chair across from your bed and watched as you tried to sleep, that same smug grin on her face.

"Speak of the devil," Cheshire muttered, lifting her head as Sportsmaster and Artemis met them along the winding path towards the training grounds.

"Jade," he greeted in a deep, baritone of a voice.

"Good morning, Lawrence," she replied scathingly. "Artemis."

The four of them fell into step together, remaining silent for a few contemplative seconds. Remy walked next to Artemis, avoiding the blonde archer's gaze.

"I see your pupil is still alive," Lawrence chuckled darkly. "That in and of itself is an astounding fact. Allow me to congratulate you, Roulette."

The tall, blonde man stuck his hand out, reaching over his daughter and gave her a mocking smile. Remy glanced at him and declined the handshake with a petulant smile.

Cheshire chuckled as they pulled up to the main dojo. Several other members were beginning to file into the room. "Unlike your _pupil, _Lawrence, mine is going to pass the trials and actually become a member of the Shadows."

The four stopped just outside the door. Jade and Lawrence were now standing almost nose to nose, as Remy and Artemis stood awkwardly to the side. Remy had yet to make eye contact with Artemis.

"You're forgetting who sponsored your pupil for membership," Lawrence ground out. "I can rescind that offer at any time."

"You wouldn't dare," Jade smirked. "I think you're just afraid that she'll outdo you're little mini-me."

"That's ridiculous," Lawrence scoffed. "Artemis is twice the warrior than most of the members of the Shadows, including this rookie."

Remy rolled her eyes. _This is insulting and ridiculous, _she thought. They were carrying on as if neither she nor Artemis were standing there. The both of them clearly had some unresolved issues with each other.

"It's generally known that breeding _does not_ always win out in the end," Jade said, fixing Artemis with a languid glance. Artemis scowled at the older woman and narrowed her eyes as Jade slung and arm around Remy's shoulders. She stiffened but made no move to remove her arm. "Raz will be getting impatient."

"After you of course." Sportsmaster held out a hand, somehow making this normally gentlemanly gesture a joke.

With a scathing glance in the direction of Artemis and Sportsmaster, Remy immediately understood where Artemis got her attitude and rudeness from. Her father of course.

Remy almost snorted as the thought crossed her mind. Artemis had an excuse to act that way. What was hers?

Raz-al Ghoul was a tall, but generally unimposing man. Remy and Cheshire sat directly in front of the man, next to Artemis and her father. His face bore the scars and marks of a man who had seen many battles, maybe recently, maybe in his youth. Remy couldn't be sure.

She only knew that he was the most important person in the Shadows. The boss, the CEO, the head honcho, the big cheese, maybe even king if you were feeling dramatic.

"Welcome, initiates." Raz smiled down at them predatorily, his voice coming out like a hiss. Shivers ran down Remy's spine at the sound of it. "We gather today to begin the Trials required for membership into this organization which has stood for more than a thousand moon cycles."

Out of the corner of her eye, Remy could see other members of the Shadows staring intently at their leader. Many held candles in their hands, casting flickering light all around them.

"Artemis, please," Raz glanced over at Artemis and held out his hand. Artemis stood after a nudge from Sportsmaster and walked over to her place beside Raz. He addressed the congregation once more. "Most of you should know Artemis very well by now. She has the skill and talent with a bow years beyond her age. She will be a fierce competitor no doubt, but will she have the wherewithal to complete the tests before her? We shall see."

"Roulette." Raz turned his gaze to Remy and gestured for her to join them. Once more, he turned to address the congregation. "It is human nature to fear the unknown." He paused and Remy lifted her head slightly higher. "_She _is the unknown." He jerked a thumb in her direction. "Whether or not we should fear her, remains to be seen, however."

"Sportsmaster has offered up the both of them for membership," Raz explained. "And so today we begin the trials. If both of these warriors survive then they will be welcomed with open arms. Should they fail…"

Laughter filled the room as Raz smiled at the other members.

"…well we are all aware of the consequences of failure," he finished. He put one arm on Artemis' shoulder and the other on Remy's. "Report to Sensei to begin your first test. Observation is strictly forbidden for the first test. I warn all of you, do not interfere with the test or you will deal with me. _Personally._"

That shut the room up very quickly.

"Go," he told them. "We will disperse after you have been admitted into the testing room."

Remy and Artemis shared a loaded look and stepped away from Raz. They walked side by side out of the room, feeling the eyes of the Shadows on them.

Once they stepped outside into the cold morning air, with the door shut behind them, Remy felt as if she could breathe again. The dramatic feeling in the air immediately disappeared.

"They're a bit over dramatic," Remy observed.

Artemis glanced at her and said nothing. She opted for walking away instead. Remy sighed, rolling her eyes and followed after the blonde archer.

* * *

Remy sighed, rubbing her temples. She was in complete darkness in a room that was no bigger than a prison cell. If that wasn't bad enough, they had locked Artemis in here with her. She guessed that they'd been in there for about ten minutes, but Remy was generally not a very patient person.

_What the hell is the point of this?_ Remy thought, sliding down to sit on her laurels. _I could've stayed home and locked myself in a closet to 'administer' this test myself._

"What is the goddamn point of this?" Artemis muttered, echoing Remy's thoughts.

"Test us out for claustrophobia?" Remy snorted bleakly. "This is probably the easiest test I've ever taken. We're not even doing anything."

"Agreed."

Suddenly, a small, eye level slit opened up and Remy could see Artemis for a moment. Sensei appeared at the eye slit and shoved a wooden box in, allowing it to clang onto the floor. Artemis rushed forward to pick it up.

"I am turning on the lights now," he warned. "Your instructions are in the box."

That being said, Sensei slammed the slit, bathing them in darkness once more before a click was heard and a single overhead light was turned on. Remy noticed that the room was empty save for a single telephone hanging against the wall.

Remy and Artemis congregated in the middle of the empty room. Artemis got the box open after some finagling and pulled out a pair of pliers and a piece of paper.

Artemis read over the sheet of paper, a sick look coming over her face.

"What does it say?" Remy demanded, reaching for the paper.

The archer cleared her throat and began to read. "'Survival is everything to a Shadow. You must be able to adapt to any situation and fight _tooth and nail_ for your life.'—the tooth and nail is in bold—'Enclosed in this box is a pair of pliers. The phone in the corner of your room is rigged to explode in five minutes. Dial the number 2689 to be released. Pain must be endured in some fashion to safely escape this room."

Remy felt a queasiness rush into her stomach and she now understood Artemis' hesitation to read the paper aloud. She swallowed.

"Go on," Remy said.

Artemis continued. "'Divide the task to fight _tooth and nail '_—that's in bold again—'for your lives among each other. Choose one pain or the other. Quickly.'"

Remy's throat felt dry as she stared at the pair of pliers. "This is disgusting. They can't mean—"

"Tooth and nail." Artemis' voice was grim. "I think they do. It was in bold."

The two girls were silent as they both stared at that menacing little instrument sitting between them. Remy suddenly wished she was somewhere else. Anywhere that wasn't here.

"Tooth or nail?" Remy asked bleakly, preparing her mind for the pain that was about to be endured.

Artemis thought about this for a moment and swallowed. "Teeth please."

"Pussy," Remy muttered, knowing it would be less painful. She had been sincerely _hoping _to have her teeth yanked from her mouth as opposed to the fingernail being ripped from her hands. That in and of itself spoke of how sick this "trial" was.

"You're up first then," Remy said, grabbing the pliers.

Artemis stopped her with a hand. "Hold on why do I have to go first?"

"If you pull out all my fingernails, I can't very well pull out some of your teeth now can I?" Remy sneered.

"F-fine," Artemis muttered, laying back. "Just do it quickly. We don't have much time."

Remy breathed out and gripped the pliers in her now sweaty hands. She focused on breathing in calmly and breathing out slowly as she leaned over Artemis. Killing was one thing, but torture? Remy felt very uncomfortable with this so-called 'test.'

The blonde archer opened her mouth and gripped the fabric of her shirt tightly in her hands, preparing herself for the pain.

"How many?" Remy asked.

"How should I know?" Artemis demanded. "Just do four of them."

Remy took another deep breath and put the pliers to one of Artemis molars, her hand shaking. Artemis looked up with wide eyes, gripping her shirt tighter.

Remy closed her eyes and started to put pressure on the tooth.

"Don't shut them!" Artemis practically shouted. "Watch what you're doing!"

"Right, sorry," Remy blew out a sigh. And pulled.

The resounding scream was horrifying as the tooth clanged to the floor. "This will be less painful if you do it more quickly," Artemis breathed out, her voice coming out slightly whiny. "Just do them all quickly!"

"Fine." Remy pulled another out.

She gripped another tooth and yanked.

And she pulled a fourth on out of the blonder archer's bleeding mouth.

Remy was shaky as she deposited the pliers next to Artemis' hand. The archer was writhing on the ground, holding her face and moaning.

"Come on. You can return the favor now." Remy nudged Artemis with her foot, feeling nauseas.

"Dammit that _really_ hurt," Artemis moaned, sitting up.

"Not as bad as this is going to hurt," Remy said blackly.

"Good point," Artemis breathed out, ripping the bottom of her shirt up. She stuffed it into her bleeding mouth to stop the heavy flow of red liquid running onto the gray cement floor.

"Do it quickly," Remy said, sliding back against the wall, and holding out her right hand to the archer. "We can't have much time left."

Artemis gripped the pliers in her hand and dug the tips underneath the nail of Remy's index finger. As soon as Artemis began to pull, Remy could not help the guttural scream that was wrenched from her lips. It seemed to take an eternity before the nails was completely removed, a steady flow of blood now coming out.

Never, in her entire life, had she felt this much pain. Remy started to sweat from the pain as Artemis started on her middle fingernail.

Her ring finger was next. It slid out slowly and more painfully than the others.

She thought she heard Artemis apologize as she ripped the last finger nail out.

As Remy cradled her injured hand to her chest she felt tears slide down her face. She couldn't help it; it was a base reaction to the pain. She wiped her eyes with her uninjured hand as Artemis dropped the pliers and scrambled to the phone, dialing quickly.

"Shit, shit, shit," Remy moaned as her fingers started to bleed more quickly. The door to the room opened as Artemis put the phone down.

Sensei was smiling at the both of them broadly as he beckoned them to come outside of the room. Artemis was quick to leave the room behind and Remy followed closely after.

"Congratulations," he said, shutting the door behind him. "You've passed the first test."

* * *

Author's Note: Oh hey guys, sorry for this really lame AN but I have a question. I'm taking my driver's test at the DMV tomorrow (finally after a year of having my permit) and I was wondering what kind of crap—like paperwork—I need to bring. And what the general protocol is. So if any of you would like to indulge and help me out here it would be greatly appreciated. Think of it this way: if I get my license tomorrow, I can go shopping like every single day… and eat real food (we only have disgusting space food at my house) and that will make me happy. Happiness= faster updates (: Thanks!


	16. The Tournament

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long! I kept getting distracted while writing. Glad there was a positive response to the last chapter. I was worried it might've been too much, you know since it was so gruesome. Anyways, here's the next chapter! Ooh and I hear new episodes will return in September! That's exciting isn't it? :) I'm veeery happy now. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: The Tournament

* * *

Remy returned to her quarters after bidding Artemis a rushed farewell after the first test, promising that they would talk in private later that night. With all of the members of the League of Shadows lurking, Remy knew it would be stupid to try and talk to Artemis out there in the open.

Cheshire was seated at her table, chopsticks in hand as she dug into some sizzling beef.

"You have takeout here?" Remy raised her eyebrows.

"Authentic," Cheshire corrected, reaching behind her to grab another plate of food. She slid it onto the table and gestured for Remy to sit down.

Remy held up her right hand, blood still slowly trickling down onto her arm. "Got anything to patch this up?"

Cheshire laughed blackly, standing up. "That's going to hinder you for the next test, I hope you realize that."

"Yeah well, good luck to Artemis," Remy sneered, "she's not going to be eating for a while."

"True," Cheshire agreed, opening a cabinet. She pulled out a black bag and tossed it to Remy before returning to her seat.

Remy unzipped the bag and took out the rolls of gauze and medical tape, sitting down across from Cheshire as she bandaged her fingers.

Cheshire stared at her as she did so, thoroughly annoying Remy. "Don't you want to know what the next test is?"

Remy glanced up, taping off her bandaged fingers. "Isn't that cheating?"

"Let's just call it leveling the playing field," Cheshire said, "but you can bet that Sportsmaster will be doing the exact same thing."

Remy sighed irritably, digging into her plate of food. "Fine, what is it?"

"I'm surprised you haven't overheard anything about it yet," Cheshire said. "The Tournament usually gets everyone all riled up." Cheshire paused to sip something out of her glass. "The Tournament is the second test. It serves two purposes. If you succeed in winning your seven rounds of fighting, then it proves you're combat skills are up to snuff."

"It also ferrets out weaker members of the Shadows," Cheshire explained. "It is possible for any member to be put up for evaluation, even myself if I perform poorly on my missions."

"Does everyone fight?" Remy asked, curious as to whether she would have to fight Sportsmaster or maybe even Cheshire.

"No, just the members that are up for… evaluation," Cheshire explained. "You fight to the death, and the weaker members will fall." She paused to look down her nose at Remy. "Just so we're clear, you cannot fail."

Remy nodded, taking a sip out of her own cup. _Wheatgrass juice?_ She wondered at Cheshire's choice. She had expected whiskey… or bleach or something.

"Alright," Remy said. "So I kill everyone in a ten foot radius. Piece of cake."

"You will be allowed to choose a single weapon," Cheshire added. "Have you trained with katanas or a bow and arrow like Artemis? Anything at all?"

"I've used a bow-staff," Remy shrugged, not too concerned with this fact. "I can handle it."

Cheshire narrowed her eyes. "Fine, then let's begin training."

Remy almost spit out her wheatgrass juice mid-sip. "Training?"

Cheshire stood, her arms folded. "Yes, training. I told you that I would teach you."

"Shouldn't we wait until after the test tomorrow?"

"Not unless you want to die," Cheshire smirked, putting her plate up onto the countertop. "Now, come. We'll begin with some tai chi to focus your mind." Remy stared at her, her lips pursed. "You _have _done tai chi before haven't you?"

"Don't insult me."

* * *

The cold mountain air did nothing to phase Remy as she made her way to the outdoor arena the next morning. She was sore in all the wrong places, thanks to Cheshire's 'training' session. Remy had only two words to describe Cheshire after said training: Complete. Hell.

Remy had always prided herself on the fact that she was a hard-worker. She trained hard today, so that tomorrow when it really counted she would have the stamina and the skills to be able to execute.

But, man, Cheshire had ripped her a new one.

"Hey. Remy!" The sound of Artemis' voice greeted her from behind and soon the blonde archer was beside her.

"Sportsmaster Junior," Remy nodded in acknowledgement.

Artemis face went carefully blank. "Is that why you wanted to meet last night? And why you wouldn't look at me yesterday?" Remy shrugged. "You never even showed up to last night's meeting."

"Cheshire wanted to train," Remy explained. "There was no time."

"I told you not to trust her," Artemis snapped. "She probably just—"

"So you're denying that Sportsmaster is your father, then?" Remy interrupted.

"Yes!—I mean no! No, I'm not." Artemis sighed. "It's true; I just didn't want you to find out."

Remy laughed blackly. "So it's alright for you to know all of my dirty little secrets, but if I know _one of yours—"_

"It's not like that," Artemis stepped in front of Remy and put her hands up. "I swear. It's just… I've got family issues."

Remy studied her face for a moment. Artemis looked desperate, somewhat scared. This was an odd look for the normally cocky blonde. "I don't like to be kept in the dark."

"And I told you that I would tell you everything once we completed the membership rites," Artemis snapped. "Can we please just stick to that? You finding out about my father is…unexpected. We need to stay focused for today."

Remy nodded as the girls arrived at the outdoor arena where the tournament would take place, deciding she could let this go. Artemis was right after all, they needed to be focused for today. "A tournament fought to the death. How cliché."

"Tell me about it," Artemis muttered, holding open the gate, allowing Remy to walk through first.

The arena was already crowded with many of the operatives Remy had seen around the camp in the short time she'd been there. Cheshire was standing on the far side, conversing with the assassin known as Black Widow. She glanced over but did not acknowledge Remy with anything other than a curt nod.

"They're not allowed to speak to us before the tournament," Artemis explained. "Not until after we choose our weapons and successfully complete the first round. Sensei and Ra's are the only ones allowed to speak with us."

Remy nodded, studying the crowd closely for people who looked as if they were going to fight. She didn't like the fact that she was going into this blind, with no idea how the members of the Shadows were going to fight.

Sportsmaster was nowhere to be seen as far as Remy could tell, and he did not approach them. She did, however, see Ra's al Ghul conversing with the Sensei not twenty feet in front of them. Sensei saw Artemis and Remy simply standing around and waved them over.

"Artemis, Roulette," Ra's greeted them. "Are you ready to fight for your lives? No matter what?"

Remy's nail-less hand throbbed at his choice of words. She was starting to see a pattern here. And not in a good way.

"Of course," Artemis said and Remy nodded.

"Good," Sensei said, putting a hand onto each one of their shoulders. He turned them to face a tall skinny hut made of bamboo, probably no bigger than Remy's kitchen and lifted his hand off of Remy's shoulder to point at it. "You will find an array of weapons in that room. Choose one and then return. We will settle the crowd and then begin the tournament.

The two girls shared a glance and started walking, listening as Ra's calmed the crowd and herded them into some sort of seating arrangement.

Remy was first through the door, followed closely by Artemis. She couldn't help the appreciative whistle that left her mouth as she took in the array of weaponry. There were no modern weapons such as guns; however there were swords, axes, nun chucks, _and maces_, anything imaginable.

_Impressive, _Remy allowed, picking up a bow staff. She twirled it in her hands, getting a feel for it as Artemis picked up a long sword. She placed it back, before settling on a pair of katanas.

"What? No bow and arrow?" Remy asked condescension in her tone.

"Useless in close quarters." Artemis paused for a moment, before turning to Remy.

"Yes?" Remy raised her eyebrows.

Artemis swallowed. "Listen I—Uh I know that we don't really get along, but I don't want you to die or anything. So, uh, be careful."

Remy's right eye twitched, and she looked around the room feeling oddly uncomfortable. Artemis' words were very strained, but definitely genuine—her body language was proof of that.

"Right," Remy said slowly, unsure of how to proceed in such a sentimental conversation. She wasn't good at touchy-feely things like this and obviously, neither was Artemis. "Uh, same to you."

She abruptly turned on her heel and led the way back to the arena, Artemis in step beside her. When they reached the arena they could see that all of the people who had been littering the grounds nearby were congregated on one side of the arena.

Ra's stood in front of the crowd, gesturing for Remy and Artemis to join him. They took their places next to him and waited for him to address the crowd.

"Today we begin the Tournament," Ra's announced to a few cheers. "It is a time honored tradition and membership rite that ferrets out the weakest of us." He glanced at Remy and Artemis. "You will fight through seven deadly rounds to complete the trial successfully."

He faced the crowd once more. "The Tournament will showcase the physical and mental strength of these pledges. We shall see if they can withstand round after round of fighting against some of the greatest warriors in the world."

Ra's paused to clear his throat. "A weapon has been chosen by each. By Artemis, a pair of katanas. Silent and deadly. And by Roulette, a wooden bow staff. A defensive, yet useful choice."

He turned to face Remy and Artemis. "Are you ready to begin?" The girls nodded. "Then from this point on, the Tournament is in session. There will be no outside interference." To them only he said. "Artemis will begin. You may take a few moments to prepare yourself, Roulette."

That being said both he and Artemis walked towards the center of the arena, leaving Remy by herself. Sensei took Ra's spot on the field and the older man took a seat with the rest of the congregation. She walked over to her designated seat, away from the crowd and reached down into her bag, pulling out some gauze and her hand wraps.

As she pulled off the bandages from the night before and started the task of putting new ones on, she watched a young woman almost a full foot shorter than Artemis approach her, wielding a pair of nun chucks.

"The first round will be fought between Artemis and Midnight," Sensei called out. "Fighters, prepare." Artemis crouched back into her fighting stance and so did the girl called midnight. "Begin."

Sensei moved out of the way and Artemis immediately lunged for the smaller woman, swinging her katanas in a quick succession. Remy watched as the woman dodged Artemis' attacks over and over, never attacking. Midnight attempted to swing her nun chucks at Artemis once she saw an opening, but it was to no avail.

Artemis proceeded to slice the nun chuks in half before lunging forward and kicking the woman's feet out from under her. Before Midnight could react, Artemis lopped off her head, her katanas slicing through skin and bone almost inaudibly.

Remy stifled the urge to gag as she tightened her hand wraps. She noticed Artemis had a strange look on her face, almost as if she was surprised at how easy it had been to decapitate the other woman.

"Artemis is the clear winner," Sensei announced to the cheering crowd. "You may take your seat and prepare for the next round."

Remy moved from the bench, allowing Artemis and the now approaching Sportsmaster to take her spot. Remy joined Sensei in the middle of the arena as her opponent strode out from the crowd.

_Holy shit. _Remy let out a low whistle, gripping her bow staff tighter.

Remy blanched as she watched the man—no, not a man, a beast practically—join them. The man had to be at least six and half feet tall if not seven feet tall. He gripped a large axe in his hand and grunted as he took in her Remy's comparatively small appearance. The man was so muscular that Remy was afraid they were going to burst out of his skin at any moment.

Remy sent a glare heavenward, silently asking what she did to deserve this.

"Roulette will face Tank first round," Sensei called.

_Of course his name is Tank. He _is _a tank._

"Fighters prepare."

Remy fell back into a defensive posture, holding her bow staff firmly in both of her hands. Tank swung his axe in his hand, grunting.

"Begin."

As soon as Sensei had removed himself from the arena, Tank charged at Remy, swinging his axe violently, already trying to chop her in half.

Remy ducked to avoid the axe kicked at Tank's feet, attempting to get him off balance. It did little to faze him, and Remy's foot hurt slightly after the attempt. He swung the axe at her once more and Remy put her bow staff up to block the attack.

There was a resounding snap as her staff was broken into two sharp ended pieces. Growling she dropped them and started to formulate a plan. She jumped up into the air as Tank attempted to slice her completely in half and she used the opportunity to grab the axe.

Remy gripped the handle above Tank and twisted her body backwards, intending to lock his arms out.

"Stupid girl," Tank chuckled, throwing Remy and the axe to the ground with little effort. He raised his foot and stomped it down in the vicinity or Remy's ribs. She rolled to avoid the impact and attempted to lift the axe.

She groaned, unable to lift it more than six inches off the ground. Remy dropped it and instead charged straight at Tank. She fired off numerous jabs at his neck and arms, trying to find his pressure points.

It made no difference on Tank, who was covered with blistering amounts of muscle. He easily caught Remy mid punch and wrapped his hand around her neck. Remy choked as her air supply was cut off and her feet dangled from the ground.

She started to see black around the edges when she swung her legs out, her foot making impact with Tank's face. He dropped Remy to the ground, grabbing at his bleeding mouth in pain. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Remy charged at him, leaping up onto his back.

Quickly, she used two fingers to poke his eyes and used her other hand to break his nose. She hopped off, and managed to correctly sweep his legs out from under him, before jumping full force down onto his ribs.

The sickening sound of his ribs cracking was drowned out by his howl of pain.

For good measure, Remy kicked his face in, rendering him basically useless. A cocky smile graced her features as she sauntered over to grab one of her sharp ended bow staff pieces. Twirling it on her wrist she plunged it straight down on top of Tank, piercing his heart and effectively ending him.

Breathing heavily, she pried her hands from the now bloody stick and stared at the steady stream of blood flowing from Tank's chest.

"Roulette is the clear winner," Sensei announced, suddenly beside Remy, startling her. "You may take your seat."

* * *

Three rounds in, Remy was seriously starting to regret her participation in these fights. As Artemis breezed through Midnight, a comparatively scrawny man called Slink, and another woman called Bones, Remy was matched with increasingly more difficult fights. Tank had been the first, followed swiftly by a woman named Shadow—whom had managed to dislocate Remy's shoulder—and she had just finished off the man known as Rock—yet another completely appropriate alias for the man.

As she made her way back to the bench, Remy noted Cheshire heatedly arguing with Sportsmaster and Sensei. Artemis stood to the side her arms folded and a scowl on her face.

"—completely ridiculous," Cheshire was saying as Remy sidled up next to the woman. "Tank and Shadow were _not _up for evaluation. Their names should not have been in the running for the Tournament."

"Calm yourself Jade," Sensei warned.

"Yes, do calm yourself Jade," Sportsmaster sneered.

Cheshire sighed, folding her arms. "Lawrence, don't make me kill you in front of all these people. It's not the way I want things to end."

Sportsmaster threw his head back and laughed loudly. "As if you could."

As Jade took a step forward, Sensei stepped in between them. "Jade, the opponents are picked randomly each year from the members up for elimin—excuse me, _evaluation—_and you know that."

"Randomly picked by Sportsmaster," Jade said irritably. Remy looked up at this statement, wondering if this was true and if Sportsmaster had tried to set her up. "Artemis has breezed through the weakest of us with little or no effort. Roulette has—"

"I cannot help it if your pupil is incompetent," Sportsmaster grumbled.

"Incompetent!" Remy growled, deciding that she would take his insults no longer. "You _stupid _son of a bitch—"

"Watch it Remy," Artemis warned stepping forward. "That's my father you're talking about."

"And that's the point!" Remy ground out in frustration, looking to Sensei for help.

Sportsmaster seemed unfazed by Remy's display and turned to his daughter and Sensei. "Bring out the next opponent. I shall return to my seat to observe a _real_ warrior." Sensei and Artemis obliged, heading back to the arena.

Looking pointedly at Remy, Sportsmaster stalked off. Remy fixed the back of his head with a glare before taking a seat on the bench.

Cheshire groaned out loud in frustration, coming to stand in front of Remy.

"This sucks," Remy complained succumbing to her own self-pity. A rare occurrence, indeed.

"Truthfully, you're doing extremely well," Cheshire admitted. "Sportsmaster has obviously rigged the competition against you, but there's no way to fix that. What's done is done."

"My opponents did seem _slightly _more skilled than Artemis'," Remy rolled her eyes. "There's nothing I can do though, right? Except fight."

"Yes," Cheshire sighed. "You've defeated some fairly good fighters already. If you keep up your form I have confidence that you'll win. Watch your foot work though, it's getting sloppy."

"Right," Remy nodded, watching as Artemis began her fight. "But I refuse to let this go."

"You're my kind of girl, Remy," Cheshire smirked. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve yet."

* * *

"The clear winner is Roulette," Sensei announced after the seventh and final round of fighting.

Remy was breathing hard and struggled to right herself after being forced to gouge out her final opponent's eyes in order to get close enough to snap the woman's neck.

_I picked the wrong occupation,_ Remy thought as Sensei dismissed the crowd, announcing that the Tournament had concluded.

She watched as Sensei beckoned Ra's to him and was soon joined by both Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Artemis strode up to Remy, the two of them watching the argument between their 'mentors' unfold.

"That was really something wasn't it?" Artemis commented.

"For me, yes. For you? No."

"Please, I won fair and square," Artemis argued.

"Oh I'm not denying you won the fights," Remy shrugged. "Just that Daddy Sportsmaster, who chooses the opponents for _both _of us, rigged it in your favor."

"You're so full of yourself," Artemis groaned, starting to walk off.

"With good reason," Remy sneered. "I had to fight twice as hard as you did today, there's no denying that. Too bad we all don't have our big bad daddies to bail us out of death matches. All the members I demolished today could've used one."

Artemis raised her eyebrows at Remy and shook her head, disgusted, before stalking off.

_Alone, _Remy thought blackly, _just the way I like it._


	17. Members

Author's Note: No author's note today. Does anyone actually read them anyways? Just curious… And _now_ it _is _an author's note. Anyways, beginning of the chapter is kinda lame… I'm having some writer's block… Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Members

* * *

"Today is the third and final trial," Sensei explained. "If you successfully complete the last test you will be admitted into the League of Shadows as full members. We will begin the membership ceremony immediately following the trial or we will burn your corpses."

Remy's face soured as she shared a look with Artemis.

Unperturbed, Sensei continued. "The outcome depends on you. I will leave this room and Cheshire will administer the final test." Sensei started towards the door, stopping as Artemis jumped to her feet.

"Cheshire!" Artemis snapped. "She's never administered the third trial. Black Widow always—"

"Black Widow could not be found this morning," Sensei said blankly. "We can assume she has either left of her own volition, thereby interfering with the sanctity of these trials and as such she will be hunted down, _or _she is already dead by her own stupidity."

Remy's eyes widened slightly at the Sensei's words. _Harsh much?_

"Cheshire has so graciously agreed to step in to administer the final test," Sensei explained, turning away from them. "Seat yourself Artemis. I would think you of all people would understand the importance of preparing yourself for the next test."

A flash of light entered the room as Sensei opened the door to the outside. Remy could see the slender outline of Cheshire's body as she passed by Sensei, closing the door behind her.

"Welcome to your final test ladies," Cheshire said, her voice low and melodic as she grinned. "This trial is designed to test your mental fortitude. If you're smart enough to pass, good for you." She looked down her nose at the both of us. "I assume that you're both smart enough to realize what happens by now if you fail?"

The girls nodded in unison and Cheshire smiled. "Good. Then let's begin. I'll ask you a question and if you answer correctly, you pass. You only need three correct answers to pass. For every wrong answer, I take this knife—" she pulled out a long, sharp silver blade from her waistband and held it up—"and I leave my mark on you. Any more than seven marks and you fail. Understood?"

Remy sighed, rolling her eyes. The Shadows had a serious fetish for pain and suffering.

"I will alternate the questions between the both of you," Cheshire explained. "I ask that while I am quizzing one of you, that the other remain silent. On that note, Remy you'll be fielding the first question. Roll up your sleeves and show me your wrists."

Remy looked up and obliged, reaching her arm towards Cheshire. The woman grabbed her arm and held the blade above the skin. When she looked Remy in the eye, Remy noted a mischievous glint.

"No legs have I to dance, no lungs have I to breathe, no life have I to live or die, and yet I do all three. What am I?"

Remy almost laughed out loud. She'd heard this riddle a million times before; it was practically ancient. "I am fire."

_That was… strangely simple, _Remy thought to herself as Cheshire slid the knife away and released Remy's arm with a smirk.

"One to Remy," she said, taking Artemis' arm. "Artemis, what always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?"

"A river," Artemis answered, without missing a beat.

"Wonderful," Cheshire said condescendingly. "You've both gotten one correct which means you're both two steps closer to becoming a Shadow."

Cheshire turned slightly to reach into her back pocket before pulling out a bottle of clear liquid. She slowly unscrewed the cap to the bottle and dipped the tip of the blade.

"What is that?" Artemis demanded.

"Anthrax," Cheshire murmured, closing up the bottle. She grinned at the girls. "This way, if you get a wrong answer you'll be feeling it the rest of the day. Too much and you'll die of course, but a _little _poison never hurt anybody."

Remy, frankly, couldn't bring herself to be surprised at this.

"Now, Remy, question number two," Cheshire said. "What relation would your father's sister's sister-in-law be to you?"

"Seriously?" Artemis snorted.

"Silence," Cheshire hissed.

Remy rolled her eyes, answering easily. "Your mother."

Cheshire nodded approvingly before moving on to Artemis. "There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters. What is the word?"

Artemis rolled her eyes, huffing. "You give _her _one of the easiest questions known to man and I get this? That's _totally fair."_

Quickly, Cheshire sliced the blade across Artemis' wrist. The blonde hissed yanking her arm back. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"Shall I count that as your answer?" Cheshire asked callously.

Artemis shook her head vigorously and seemed to consider the question.

"She does have a point," Remy shrugged.

Cheshire reached over and yanked Remy's arm to her, sliding the blade across her arm slowly. Remy growled, glaring daggers at Cheshire as her arm started to bleed.

"In here, _I _decide what's fair," Cheshire snapped. "Stay quiet. Artemis, what's your answer?"

"I'm thinking," she said irritably. "There are thousands of words in the English language."

Cheshire waited a few more seconds. "Time's up. The answer is 'therein.'" That being said, Cheshire sliced across Artemis' wrist once more.

Artemis groaned, grabbing her wrist, alternating her glares between Remy and Cheshire. "Totally not rigged."

And for once, Remy had to agree with her. Cheshire hadn't specifically _told _Remy that she was going to play favorites but she _had _hinted at it.

"Remy, final question providing you answer correctly," Cheshire addressed her, gripping the knife loosely in her hand as though she weren't really going to use it. "You can see nothing else, when you look in my face, I will look you in the eye, and I will never lie. What am I?"

Remy's face took on a blank look as she considered the question. And what answering the question would mean. She would finally be a Shadow. A _real _Shadow. Dangerous and deadly.

She wasn't even sure if she wanted to answer. Wasn't sure what she wanted at all. Hero or villain? Good or bad?

"My reflection," Remy answered, zoning out as Cheshire questioned Artemis. Because, really, she had to answer no matter what.

As Artemis answered the next two riddles correctly, Remy realized that she was more confused than ever. She was a double agent for the JLA and for the League of Shadows.

She just wasn't sure which side was the one she'd chosen.

* * *

"Step forward, Roulette," Ra's al Ghul instructed.

Remy did as she was told, walking to the center of the room to join Ra's al Ghul, leaving her spot from beside Cheshire. The members of the Shadows closed the circle where Remy had left it. From behind Ra's, Sensei nodded to the man beside him holding the basket of candles. He passed the basket around until each member in the circle had an unlit candle, just as they had done for Artemis.

Remy knew what was coming next. The blood stains from the woman Artemis had beheaded were still fresh on the floor.

Ra's turned to Sportsmaster. "Bring in the prisoner."

Sportsmaster turned, breaking the circle once more and sauntered towards the door, gesturing for the guards to bring the prisoner in.

Remy watched as the man was dragged in, his ankles and wrists bound in metal chains. The man was small and feeble; they had no doubt been starving him to death.

As the man was brought to his knees in front of Remy, an axe was thrust into her hands by Sportsmaster.

The man on the floor looked up in fright at Remy and at Ra's, pleading for his life in Hindi. Remy gripped the axe, staring at Ra's, waiting for her instructions.

"Remy Vanderbilt, you have completed the trials successfully, proving to us all that you are worthy of being an agent of the Shadows. Now, you must prove to us how strong you desire is to bring justice to this world."

The man on the floor had started crying by now, blubbering in his native tongue. Ra's continued as if the man weren't even there. "This man has cheated and stolen. He is a thief and a liar. Will you bring him to justice?"

"I will," Remy answered.

"Then do it," Ra's nodded, stepping to the side.

Remy swallowed, her throat tight as she raised the axe. The man was sobbing, his chest heaving and his breathing uneven.

_ This is wrong, _her conscience told her. But Remy knew this was necessary. Which is why she forced her eyes open as she swung the axe and beheaded the man, why she looked into his eyes and watched as the life was taken from him.

Because she _would _remember him, and she would no doubt remember this day for years to come, no matter which side she chose in the end.

"From this day forward, you shall be known and feared as _Roulette,_" Ra's explained, forcing Remy to look away as he took her axe and replaced it with a lit candle.

Looking around, she noticed the other members of the Shadows had lit their own candles. "You are now an agent of the Shadows. You are now apart of something greater than any one man or woman. You represent sacrifice. By joining this circle you have consented to being the weapon of this League's hand. None must come before us. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Do you, Roulette, agree to uphold the ideals of this sacred institution even if it should mean your death?"

"Yes," Remy answered. The candle in her hand seemed to flicker as she answered, her voice hollow.

"Do you, Roulette, agree to further the goals of this sacred institution as if they were your own?"

"Yes."

"And do you, Roulette, agree to dedicate your entire being to shining the Light into every corner of this darkened world?"

Remy swallowed. "Yes."

Ra's al Ghul smirked. "Then, we welcome you to our circle, Roulette."

The congregated members of the League of Shadows, which now included Artemis parted, breaking the circle surrounding the two of them, allowing Ra's the room to step back in. As if on cue, each member that was holding a candle blew out the light, leaving Remy with the only lit candle.

As Artemis scooted over to make room for Remy, Remy stepped into line.

"This ritual is hereby adjourned," Ra's announced.

Remy blew out her candle.

* * *

Remy and Artemis sat together in a companionable silence in a newly designated hut. They had been given their own quarters now that they were officially members.

Artemis was the first to break the silence. "I'll tell you everything."

Remy shook her head, looking down at the newly sewn up cuts on both of their arms. A reminder of their final test. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"You're probably right," Artemis said quietly, glancing at their packed bags just a few feet away from them.

There was silence again as Remy merely nodded.

"How can we face them?" Artemis asked.

Remy knew that she meant the team. And she would've loved to have pretended that she wouldn't care what they would think if they ever found out, but that would be a lie.

She would care very much.

Maybe because she was simply a perfectionist and hadn't wanted to disappoint anyone. But logically, Remy knew that they would never find out. Not until they had been betrayed and sucked dry of all their secrets, courtesy of Remy and Artemis.

"It doesn't matter either," Remy lied. "We've done terrible things and we need to live with that."

"Yeah," Artemis whispered, glancing at their packed bags on the floor.

Remy realized then that she should probably get used to having Artemis around. She was the only other person going through the same things, just as Batman had said. She didn't have to like her, but she needed to trust her.

After all, she couldn't even trust herself anymore.

Remy stood up first. "I've had enough of this place to last a lifetime."

"You're telling me," Artemis blew out a sigh.

As they shouldered their bags, a knock sounded on the door. Remy and Artemis shared a glance before Artemis trekked over to the door and opened it.

Cheshire stood there, smirking.

"There's one more thing you have to do before you leave."

* * *

Remy and Artemis stared down at their left wrists, the numbers 11-22-11 now permanently imprinted on their skin.

It was customary for new members to have this day burned into their skin. The day they took their first step towards greatness. The day that would live on in their memories until the day they died.

To Remy, it was just physical proof that she was a monster.


	18. Home

Author's Note: Here we gooooo. A bit more of a personal chapter. A break for Remy before all hell breaks loose (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: Home

* * *

Remy had never been so happy to see the skyline of Star City as she had been on the way home from the airport. Not even driving through the grittier parts of the city that homeless people frequented could take away from her relief at finally returning home.

Her apartment, Remy was surprised to find, was intact and completely spotless. She had been expecting a disaster area considering the way Roy liked to party.

Remy set her bags down next to the door and walked over to her house phone, dialing her voice mail.

"You have twelve unheard messages," it recited.

Remy flopped down, face first onto the couch, glancing at the clock. 1:36 pm it read. She listened as the first message began.

"_Hey Remy it's Dinah_," her low voice flowed out of the machine. "_I know you're just getting in, but today is Thanksgiving. I'm having a dinner at my house with some close friends and some of my colleagues. Just wanted to let you know that you're welcome if you'd like to come._" Dinah chuckled. "_You're probably scoffing at me right now and rolling your eyes, but I promise it's not as bad as I'm making it sound. We have apple pie, so it can't be that bad._"

Remy rolled her eyes, groaning. _Leave it to Black Canary to make me feel even shittier on a family holiday. When she's trying to be _nice _at that. _

Remy hadn't even realized it was Thanksgiving; she'd lost track of time while in Bhutan.

_"So yeah, come by, don't come by_," Dinah said awkwardly. "_Whatever you want. If I don't see you… Happy Thanksgiving_."

The machine beeped. "Message number two."

"_Hey, hey, Remy!" _Wally's enthusiastic voice spit out. "_Haven't heard from you all week and I wanted to ask how that Chemistry test went? I know that you are gone—heh get it? _Argon? _Like the chemical? — Okay that was lame. Anyway I know you went somewhere with Artemis, but I figured you weren't too far from home."_

Remy snorted rolling off the couch and onto her feet. "_So, uh, Turkey Day is coming up in like a week. I mean how awesome right? The one day you can eat as much as you want and not have to feel guilty about it! I do that anyways, but who really cares, right?"_

Remy rolled her eyes as she perched herself on the counter next to the answering machine. Wally clearly had no plans of stopping his message anytime soon. She pressed the save message button, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl beside her.

"Message number three."

"_Hey Remy! It's Wally. Again. The machine cut me off and—"_

Remy pressed the save message button again.

"Message number four."

"_Hi Remy!" _Remy jumped, startled as Miss Martian's ridiculously loud and cheerful voice rang out of the machine. "_It's apparently a huge human holiday on Thursday and I know that you're probably spending it with _your sister_, but Conner and I are having a brunch with the rest of our _friends_ that morning if you want to come. I know you don't like me much but I think it could be fun. I'm making waffles!"_

Remy pressed the delete button on Miss Martian's message. She just couldn't handle it right now, when she was in such a foul mood. And she definitely wasn't in the mood for Miss Martian's attempts at being subtle, by using the words 'your sister' instead of Black Canary and referring to their teammates as 'friends.'

It would've been perfectly fine as far as subtlety was concerned, save for the fact that she whispered the words in a conspiratorial tone. And that she said the words '_huge human holiday.' _Making it seem like she _wasn't _actually human.

If her phone was indeed being tapped, Remy would be screwed either way.

"Message Number Five."

"_Remy it's Headmistress Keller from—"_

Delete. Remy took a bite out of her apple, the crunching sound unusually loud in her ears.

"Message Number Six."

"_This is Mr. John Harley calling for Dr. Lawrence. I'm calling to talk about my recent prostrate examinat—"_

Delete.

"Message Number Seven."

"_This is Nurse Kelly from the Jasmine Springs Wellness Center in Gotham."_

Remy's ears perked up a bit at hearing the voice of her mother's nurse.

_"I'm sure you're aware that Thanksgiving is coming up soon, Miss Vanderbilt. I think your mother would really appreciate it if you could come and visit her. Maybe even bring her some apple pie and ice cream. She's been making some progress since you came in and I think she would benefit from—"_

_Goddamn, what is it with everyone and frickin' apple pie? It's not even that good!_

Remy pressed delete. After everything that had happened, her mother was the last thing she wanted to think about. It may have been a family holiday, but as far as Remy was concerned, when most of her family was either dead or institutionalized there was no reason to celebrate or be thankful.

She turned off the answering machine and kicked off her shoes, tossing her half eaten apple in the trash. She picked up her bags from the floor and headed for her bedroom, deciding she should clean up before heading out to pick up some pizza or something.

Before she could get undressed, her cell phone trilled from inside her purse.

"Hello?"

There was a deep breath and a pause. "It's me. Artemis."

Remy rolled her eyes. "I know. I have caller id."

"Oh," she said blankly. "Right of course. My bad."

Remy kicked her bags on the floor away and studied her nails. "Was there something you wanted?"

"No—I mean, yes," Artemis spit out. "I just got home and I realized it was Thanksgiving. I wanted to invite—"

"Yeah I got that as well," Remy said sarcastically. "I had twelve unheard phone messages to remind me that it's the fourth Thursday of the month."

Artemis blew out a sigh. "You're making it really hard to be nice to you, you know."

"I don't need you to be nice to me," Remy said blankly. "We're not friends. We're _colleagues._"

"Because Remy Vanderbilt doesn't need friends?" Artemis scoffed. "You're impossible. After everything we went through this past week, I thought maybe we could get past this petty infighting. Guess I was wrong."

Remy sighed, rubbing her temples. "That's not what I meant."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Remy." There was a click as Artemis hung up.

_I'm better off alone_, she told herself. _Always have been, always will be._

Standing there alone though, Remy couldn't help but feel a bit stupid. Her shoulders were clenched as she chucked her cell phone at the glass vase on her dresser.

There was a loud crash as the vase shattered and the sharp pieces littered the floor. Remy groaned, heading to the kitchen to grab a dustpan. Returning to the scene of her momentary lapse in anger management, she bent down to start picking it up piece by piece.

She collected it all into a trash bag and headed out of her apartment door to take it out with the rest of the trash.

As she approached the laundry and trash room, an angry voice could be heard yelling to no one in particular. Remy stopped just outside the door to listen.

"—don't care if she wants me there or not," the voice snapped. Remy immediately recognized the voice as Roy's. "I am _not _a part of your family anymore so I'm not coming over to eat your goddamn turkey." He paused as the person on the other line spoke and Remy heard Roy blow out a lengthy breath of frustration.

Remy decided she should just throw her trash away and get out. Eavesdropping was rude, after all.

Roy looked startled as Remy walked into the tiny room, trash bag grasped in her hand. Remy lifted a hand in greeting and pulled open the trash chute, throwing her bag down into the dark abyss.

"You're an arrogant asshole, that's why," Roy growled. "I'm not going to be a part of that _sham _of a family anymore." Roy paused and Remy heard another angry male voice on the other line now that she was passing by Roy.

Remy let him be, ignoring his gesture to wait a minute and she returned to her apartment, heading immediately for the shower again.

The knock on her door stopped her from undressing once again.

Now thoroughly annoyed, Remy stalked to the front door and allowed it to swing open, revealing Roy.

"Hi," was all she could think to say.

"Hey," he said, and smiled at her. "Sorry you had to hear that. Things are not exactly good with my family right now."

"Figured," Remy said, stepping aside. "You wanna come in or something?"

Roy looked surprised at her civil invitation and obliged. "Did you take happy pills or something? You haven't snapped at me or made any rude gestures yet."

"Funny," Remy sneered.

"There we go," Roy smirked, pointing at her. Remy turned away from Roy, choosing to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Thanks for watching the place while I was gone."

"No problem," Roy grinned easily. "How was India?"

Remy didn't bother correcting him; the less he knew and all that. "Fine."

Roy stayed silent for a moment. "Well that sounds _just riveting. _You're so descriptive, too!" Remy's expression was flat as Roy regarded her."Somehow, I'm not convinced."

Remy shrugged, seating herself at the breakfast nook. "Was there something you needed?"

"What are you doing tonight?" Roy asked, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Watching the Jersey Shore marathon," Remy said stiffly, realizing where this was going. "Alone."

"You're not going over to your parents' house?" Roy asked.

"They're dead," Remy told him, leaving out that her mother was insane. It was easier to just say that she was dead as well.

"Oh," Roy said, sobering. "Sorry about that. But that fortunately clears up your schedule. And since _neither _of us have plans with anyone else tonight—"

"It's not—"

"—we can have turkey here. You know together."

Remy sighed. "Look it's nice of you to offer but I'm not really into the whole turkey and apple pie shenanigans. To me, it's all just ridiculous hype."

Roy chuckled. "Then we'll get takeout. I know a pretty good Chines restaurant across town."

Remy hesitated, thinking about her options. _Sit on the couch for hours and stare at the television or go out and_ possibly _have a good time with my extremely good-looking neighbor? _She thought about her mother, sitting all alone in that sanitarium, of Megan and Conner hanging out together at Mount Justice, of Artemis with her mother in Gotham, and of Dinah… doing whatever it was the Dinah was doing on Thanksgiving.

"We can take my motorcycle," Roy offered.

That sold it.

Remy turned her head and looked Roy in the eye. "Just let me get changed."

* * *

Remy had to admit that the restaurant where Roy had taken her had some _delicious _kungpow chicken. The waiters were nice and generally smelled good, the décor was authentic, and the orange chicken actually tasted like an _orange._

"Admit it," Roy grinned. "You love it."

Remy spooned the last bit of chow mein into her mouth. "It's pretty good," she allowed.

"Which is better, me or the kungpow chicken?" he joked, waggling his eyebrows.

Remy pretended to think about it. "Definitely the chicken."

"Careful Remy," he pouted. "You might hurt my feelings."

Remy scoffed and finished off her drink, breathing out a sigh. "I can't eat anymore."

"No dessert?" Roy raised his eyebrows. Remy shook her head. "Come on. We _have _to at least try the Chinese version of apple pie."

"You go ahead," Remy waved him off.

"Fine," Roy muttered, signaling the waiter. Remy pulled her knees up to her chest and stared down at the tattoo on her wrist.

The waiter scurried off and Roy turned his attention back to Remy, noting her far off look. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I'm just thinking," Remy told him.

"I know."

She rolled her eyes at him and pulled her other leg up onto the seat. "Funny."

"What's wrong? You were fine until I ordered the apple pie."

"I'm not a fan," Remy shrugged, looking at the almost empty restaurant.

Roy studied her for a moment, his face softening as he watched her. "You really don't like Thanksgiving do you?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because."

"Because why? Your parents?"

"No. I already told you," Remy said irritably. "I'm not into the whole 'be thankful for your family and a place to live and a place to eat.' It's all hype and hardly anyone actually means it when they _say _they're thankful for someone or something."

"You can't _know _whether a person is _really _thankful or not," Roy argued. "And I'm sure lots of people are."

"If that's what you want to think, go right ahead," Remy told him smugly.

Roy laughed. "And I thought _I _was a pessimist."

"'A pessimist is what an optimist calls a realist'," Remy quoted.

"Touché, Miss Remy," Roy said, raising his water glass, a twinkle in his blue eyes. His smile faded as he regarded her however. "But, honestly, that's it? You're mad at the world?"

"I'm not mad at the world," Remy snorted. "It's just—people don't appreciate the things their supposed to be thankful for, until they lose them."

"And you lost your parents right?" Roy clarified.

"It doesn't matter," Remy shrugged. "What matters is that I'm right, more or less."

The waiter sauntered over to their table and set the pie down on their table, relinquishing two forks.

Roy dug in immediately, shoving his mouth full of pie. "You may be right," Roy said, speaking with his mouth full. "But that's no reason _we _can't celebrate something."

Remy snorted. "What are we going to celebrate exactly?"

Roy looked outraged. "This delicious pie of course!" He shoved his fork in Remy's face obnoxiously. "Eat it."

"What?" Remy raised her eyebrows. "I already said I'm not hungry."

"Just try it."

"I won't like it," she insisted.

"You never know until you try."

"No."

"Just one bite," Roy said, waving the fork around in circles. "Come on, open up for airplane. _Zooooooom."_

"Roy." Remy stared at the circling fork.

"What?" he asked innocently, still making the airplane noises in front of her face.

"I'm not six."

"Just open your mouth."

"_No."_

Roy reached out and put his hand over Remy's. Remy stared down at it in shock. Usually when she made contact with another human it was to push them away, or to attack them. _This is new, _Remy decided, staring back at the forkful of pie.

"Eat the pie," Roy said his face an expression of mock seriousness.

"Fine, if it'll get you to shut up!" Remy groaned exasperated, holding open her mouth. Roy shoved the fork into her mouth and Remy closed her mouth around the pie.

She chewed slowly before swallowing. "Okay that is some _good _pie."


	19. Party

Author's Note: I'm really trying to crank these out for you guys. Been super busy, but I did have time to make a Tumblr account. If any of you are interested, here is the link: .com/tumblelog/awakeforthenight. If you have a Tumblr I'd love to follow you and I'd love for you guys to follow me (: Also, to those of you who expressed concern that I would forsake this fanfiction to write my Artemis/Roy fic, I can assure you that will _never _happen. This fic is like my child and I'm definitely going to finish it (: Anyways, here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Party

* * *

For the second time that month, Remy was on a plane—well the bio-ship—seated next to Artemis.

The team's latest assignment had them headed to Monte Carlo. Remy was _not _excited in the slightest.

Remy had always wanted to visit Monaco, but not while she was _working_. It was supposed to be a very beautiful place, a wonderful vacation spot. Unfortunately for her, Remy was working overtime in the worst possible way.

Protecting some old fat prince from Monaco was not her idea of fun. Remy hadn't ever really seen Prince Ferdinand, so maybe the fat judgment was a bit preemptive, however she still didn't like the idea of integrating into his security system.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Robin asked, curiously staring at both Remy and Artemis.

"Nothing," they answered in unison.

"I think Rob is referring to the fact that you both aren't at each other's throats," Wally put in helpfully from the other side of Remy. "Or at mine, for that matter."

Remy shared a glance with Artemis who, in turn, shrugged.

"Perhaps the retreat Batman sent the two of you on allowed you to work through some of your—" Kaldur struggled for the right words, "—unresolved feelings toward each other?" Kaldur suggested.

"We worked it out," Artemis shrugged. "No big deal."

"What she said," Remy waved her left hand at Wally.

"Where was the—" Wally's eyes widened. "Wait, what's that on your wrist?"

_Oh shit._ "What are you talking about?" She asked, glancing at her wrist—the one without the tattoo. She held the right one up and showed Wally, pretending to be oblivious. "Nothing there."

"The other one," Wally scoffed.

Remy groaned and held up her hand, revealing the black set of numbers.

"What's it mean?" Robin asked.

"None of your fucking business that's what," Remy growled, much to the surprise of the team. Wally shared a concerned look with Robin over his head.

"Artemis," Megan interrupted. "You have one as well. The tattoo, I mean."

"She does?" Wally craned his neck over to get a look at Artemis' arm. "That date supposed to mean something?"

"Mind your own goddamn business," Artemis barked, turning away from him to face Conner. She gave the clone a meaningful look.

"Why are you staring at me?" Conner asked innocently.

Artemis groaned and face forward, throwing a sideways glance towards Remy.

"Seriously what is it?" Wally asked. "Did you and Arty—"

"Don't call me that, Baywatch," Artemis put in hotly.

"—join a secret club or something? Get engaged? Adopt a child?" Wally snickered.

"No," Remy rolled her eyes. "It was the final day of our retreat."

"Then why weren't you at the team's Thanksgiving brunch?" Megan inserted quietly. "If the last date was the twenty-second after all."

"Cause we were on a plane home," Artemis explained irritably.

"It took you that long to get home?" Robin asked, suspiciously.

Wally nodded. "Batman didn't say where you guys were, just that you had gone on some kind of spiritual retreat."

"We were in Budapest," Remy said as Artemis spit out, "we went to Tibet."

Remy swiveled her head to fix Artemis with a look. Then she said, "We were in Tibet."

"—in Budapest," Artemis finished as Remy did.

"Which is it?" Megan giggled.

"Both," Artemis said, glancing at Remy. "We backpacked through Tibet and then hit Budapest on the way back. It was life changing, now can we please drop it and discuss the mission details? Kaldur?"

Wally shared a look with Robin, realizing that maybe this was a girl thing or something weird like that.

Kaldur shifted in his seat. "Yes of course, Artemis is correct, we need to decide upon the appropriate positions for the team. I have a few ideas…"

* * *

Remy tugged at the hem of her strapless red dress irritably, turning around to glance at herself in the mirror. The sparkles on her gold high heels caught the light from the hotel lamp, creating a golden kaleidoscope in the mirror.

"Stop checking out your own ass," Artemis muttered from behind her, tugging on her waitress' uniform. "It looks fine."

Remy rolled her eyes, examining her powdered face, her eyes encased in liquid liner, her hair perfectly coifed and curled. It was so foreign to her, to be this dressed up.

"I'd trade you jobs in a heartbeat," Artemis promised.

"Not my fault the prince prefers _brunettes_," Remy smirked, secretly delighting in Artemis' envy.

"Could you guys _please _try and keep it down? Remy looks gorgeous and Artemis looks appropriately dowdy blah blah blah." Robin said, from the hotel desk. He was staring intently at the computer screen split into smaller visuals of the various locales at the Hotel Renoir. "This job is pretty whelming."

Robin was set up in this hotel room on the seventh floor to coordinate the team through a series of comlinks. He was basically the eye in the sky for tonight's operation.

The prince of Monaco had been one the receiving end of some very nasty death threats courtesy of—_oh the irony,_ Remy thought to herself—the League of Shadows. Ra's al Ghul had put a hit out on Prince Ferdinand quite some time ago, and the assassins were getting closer to completing their goal. Not a month before this night, the Shadows had managed to blow up a decoy sedan that was believed to have been transporting the Prince.

Tonight was the celebration of the day that Monaco had become its own country, finally breaking free of French rule to establish their own monarchy. Prince Ferdinand was holding one of the supposedly most epic parties in all of Europe for this occasion at the Hotel Renoir.

It was the perfect opportunity for the Shadows to take him out. There would be thousands of people in the crowd at the Hotel, all of them wanting to celebrate their country in style. A skilled assassin could probably figure a way inside the building, despite the drastic security measures being taken by Prince Ferdinand's top level security team.

Of course, with so many people there that night, it was _also_ the perfect time to get Prince Ferdinand out of the country and to his family's hidden estate in the Swiss Alps.

_That _was the objective.

As such, Artemis was tasked with acting as a roving waitress—of course she wasn't filling _actual _drink orders, it would be a distraction. She was supposed to keep an eye out for any known Shadows operatives from the rap sheets Batman had given us before we left.

Of course, the other team members needed those rap sheets to be able to identify many of the Shadows operatives. Remy and Artemis _did not._

Megan was set up as one of the blackjack dealers near the stage where the festivities would begin. Conner had been set up as a bartender opposite one of the exits. Robin of course, was coordinating the Young Justice team, while Wally was acting as a personal body guard for the Prince. Kaldur had been assigned to coordinate with the perimeter security should anything happen outside the Hotel.

Remy, on the other hand, had the most _wonderful _job of all. She was his _date._

For security purposes only, but still… This was just awkward. Prince Ferdinand had been informed that the Justice League would be sending covert help, and he had been shown pictures of Remy, Artemis and Megan in human form.

He had chosen Remy immediately, much to her dismay.

"This guy is probably a total jerk," Remy announced, scrutinizing her reflection in the mirror once more. "His ego is probably the size of Monaco itself."

"I'm not going to disagree," Artemis shrugged.

"Shh," Robin held up a hand. "All right, they just called for all workers to report down to the hotel lobby. They're letting the first guest in in about an hour. That's you Artemis—Megan? Oh yeah, I got you, you're linked up—take this comlink and link up to frequency four alpha zeta."

Artemis took the small earpiece off the table and slipped it into her ear, clicking it on. "You got me?"

Robin didn't turn around, he merely signaled with a thumbs up. "You're locked in Conner. Yeah—Wally and Kaldur have been set for the past forty five minutes. Wally's bringing the Prince to our room now. I'm getting Remy linked up now—hold on let me check, I—"

"Hey," Artemis said quietly, grabbing Remy's wrist. "Watch yourself out there."

"I'm sorry about Thanksgiving," Remy blurted, surprising herself by the admission of guilt.

Artemis stopped whatever she was about to say and laughed. "Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth."

Remy narrowed her eyes. "_Don't _make this a big deal. It's not."

Artemis held up her hands. "Understood. But hey—" Artemis glanced over at Robin, furiously relaying instructions to Conner at the moment "—check my duffel side pocket. Just in case."

Remy raised her eyebrows, nevertheless nodding her head, walking over to Artemis' duffel bag.

"Artemis!" Robin cried out. "What are you doing? Get down there! Remy get your comlink. _Now._"

Artemis sighed, knocking on the wall before heading out the hotel room door. Remy unzipped the pocket to reveal a handgun.

Remy struggled to keep herself from grinning. Since joining the team, she hadn't dared trying to replace her stash of firearms for fear of Batman discovering them. To have her hands on what looked like a brand spankin new one…

_Oh and so nice,_ Remy thought wistfully.

Artemis had been thinking ahead. If it came down to it and Remy was forced to shoot someone to save her or the Prince's life she would have to do it.

"Remy, now is not the time," Robin said from the desk. Remy bolted upright, shoving the gun into her garter, making sure the safety was on. "The Prince is almost here with Wally. I need to get you set up on the comlink."

Remy sauntered over and picked up her ear piece putting it in. As Robin was about to relay the instructions, Remy stopped him. "Four alpha zeta, I know."

Robin nodded. "Good. Now before they arrive… what's your name?'

"Natasha Alenko," Remy recited, putting on her fake accent. "A young and sophisticated British woman that just so happens to be the second cousin, twice removed of Prince William."

Robin turned to stare at her. "_That's _what you came up with?"

Remy shuffled her feet, clicking her ear piece once more until she could hear static. "Wally's idea. Do you have me?"

Robin shook his head. "Try clicking it back a few more times."

Remy did as she was told, searching for the annoyingly cheerful voice of Miss Martian on the frequency. "Why can't Miss M just link us up?"

"Too many people," Robin reminded her. "She might accidentally link up some random stranger and then we'd be screwed."

Remy nodded, clicking the earpiece again until Robin instructed her to stop.

"You're all linked up—" a knock sounded at the door "—and they're here."

"I'll get it," Remy told him, seeing the struggle at whether or not _he _should get the door or stay and watch the feed from the security cameras clear on his face.

"Remember, be _nice,_" Robin said. "Don't—well don't be _you. _Be Natasha."

Remy ignored him and opened the door to reveal the Prince of Monaco. She breathed out a sigh of relief to see that he was, in fact, quite dashing. He couldn't have been more than twenty five and he was definitely neither fat nor old. He even smelled good.

"So _you _are to be my escort for the evening then?" The Prince grinned roguishly, his voice silky smooth. She noticed he had a bit of a French accent. "I had no idea my protector would be so extraordinarily beautiful. Perfect."

He reached out and took her hand in his, kissing her lightly on the knuckles. Remy struggled not to roll her eyes. _Extraordinarily beautiful? Yeah right._

"Natasha Alenko," Remy smiled prettily, her voice lighter than usual. "It's a pleasure Prince Ferdinand."

"_Just _Ferdinand," he insisted, taking her arm in his.

"We should depart to the restaurant. _Sir._" It was just then that Remy realized Wally had been standing there the whole time.

_Oops, _Remy thought to herself, taking in Wally's appearance. He was dressed in a dark black suit and it seemed to be in such contrast to his personality. Wally was _never _serious, not even when he was discussing science.

Wally was the last person she would ever expect to wear a suit. He _did _look good though.

"Very well," Ferdinand smiled. "I hope you're hungry, Natasha. The Hotel Renoir's dinner course is simply _delightful."_

"Brilliant," Remy smiled, fluttering her eyelashes for good measure. Wally shut the door behind himself as they started for the elevator together.

Wally studied Remy's face for a moment, seemingly in shock. Maybe at her appearance; Remy had to admit it was quite a drastic change.

As they entered into the elevator, Robin's voice crackled in through the comlink. "_You are _way_ too good at the fluttering your eyelashes thing. It's ironic really."_

"Oh shut up," Remy whispered.

"What was that?" Ferdinand asked.

"Nothing," she said, smiling so brightly it hurt. "Nothing at all."

* * *

Two hours into the celebration and everything was running smoothly.

Well for the most part.

Kaldur had already stopped several people with suspicious looking items on their person at the door and had apprehended two of them. Not to mention, the Prince's team had picked up someone trying to sneak in from the roof.

Robin had been serving as the gofer between the Prince's security team and the Young Justice team the whole night, relaying the Princes' location at all times.

Remy had been glued to the Prince the whole time, with Wally lurking right behind them like a shadow. So far, neither had been approached or confronted by anyone who could've been an undercover Shadows operative, but the night was still young. They couldn't move the Prince for a few more hours at least.

The Shadows had to be under the impression that he was there to stay.

The only downside so far was that Prince Ferdinand was _very _popular with his people. They were constantly being approached by loyal citizens and friends of the royal family, which meant Remy had to actually be pleasant for a change.

It wasn't helping that the Prince seemed to be getting friendlier and _friendlier _as time went by. Remy was pretty sure that his hand was permanently glued to her ass.

Pretty soon, however, it would be time for Prince Ferdinand to grace the stage and give a speech about independence and freedom and all that crap.

The perfect opportunity for someone to gun him down or cause an explosion somewhere in the vicinity.

As they made their way there, Ferdinand's hand on Remy's lower back and Wally hovering behind with an irritated expression on his face, Remy was rudely shoved back into the Prince as someone forcefully bumped her shoulder.

Ferdinand righted Remy, looping his arm around her waist, not bothered in the slightest.

Remy's eyes zeroed in on the rapidly disappearing figure. Just as he was about to disappear behind a rather large man, he turned around, revealing stormy grey eyes and a very familiar face.

Remy's heart caught in her throat as the man winked at her.

Ares.


	20. Grace Under Fire

Author's Note: Okay I admit it _was _a little mean to leave you guys hanging like that :) I was just feeling so evil haha. Here's the next chapter. Oh and thank you, thank you, thank you to _everyone _who reviewed and also to those anon reviewers that I couldn't pm. Also, I am looking for a beta-reader—yes after 20 chapters haha—so if any of you would be interested, please message me :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty: Grace Under Fire

* * *

_Ares._

Remy struggled to keep the panicked look off of her face as he disappeared into the crowd. She was definitely screwed.

On the one hand, Remy couldn't very well _say _that she had seen a Shadows operative in the crowd because, well, Ares hadn't been on the list of known Shadows operatives. There would be too many questions from her teammates, and that was _definitely _not good.

On the other hand, neither Remy nor Artemis had received _any _instruction from Ra's al Ghul concerning this mission. Were they supposed to help Ares and whoever else was here? Or were they supposed to tangle with them, only to have them escape later on? This was getting to be _super _confusing, working for both sides.

What was Remy supposed to do?

_Warn Artemis, _Remy thought, _but without alerting the others. _

"Artemis," she whispered into the comlink. "I seem to have a small problem on my hands."

"_What's up?_" Artemis asked, her voice alert. Remy looked around the general vicinity for her, but there were too many people.

"_Have you seen someone suspicious inside_?" Megan chimed in.

"_That dude almost knocked her flat_," Wally added in an annoyed voice. "_It was slightly suspicious."_

"No it was _not_," Remy ground out, forcing herself to smile for the sake of the people Ferdinand was currently speaking with. "It's a, uh, lady problem. Yeah a lady problem."

Remy could hear Wally groan behind her and she rolled her eyes as Robin made an _ew _sound under his breath.

"I'll meet you outside the bathroom across from the stage," Artemis told her.

Remy turned to Ferdinand once the elderly couple he'd been chatting with disappeared. "Ferdinand, you'll have to excuse me for a moment, I need to go freshen up in the Ladies room."

Ferdinand raised an eyebrow. "But of course. I will meet you—" he put a hand on her shoulder and pointed toward the stage "—just beside the stage in five minutes. I will take Wallace with me."

Wally blanched at being called by his full name, but nevertheless followed the Prince as they made their way through the throngs of people. Remy turned on her heel, immediately heading for the restroom.

Artemis acknowledged her with a nod and headed into the restroom before her. Remy waited roughly twenty seconds before following.

"_Hey, just fyi, I can't see either of you while you're in there_," Robin said.

"I think we'll be fine," Remy said derisively, entering into the powder room.

Artemis held out her purse to her. "Here you go."

Remy shook her head, gesturing to the large bathroom stall. "Thanks, Artemis." She had to make sure that they kept their conversation sounding normal on the surface. Wouldn't want Robin getting suspicious.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, watching as Remy latched the stall door behind them. "No problem. How's it going out there?"

"Fine," Remy said, opening her own clutch. "The Prince is a little too _friendly _if you ask me." She pulled out a tube of red lipstick, uncapping it.

"_You're telling me," _Wally grumbled.

"Jealous Baywatch?" Artemis grinned, watching as Remy started to write something on the bathroom wall.

Remy had just written out the _A _and an _r _when Remy noticed, the ventilation grate above them slid open and a woman jumped down onto the floor.

_Cheshire. _

She was without her mask, and dressed in formal wear, but it was _definitely _her.

Artemis' mouth was open in a silent gasp and she was about to say something when Cheshire held a finger to her lips, grinning like a madwoman.

"_No, I'm just saying it's kind of awkward being the third wheel here," _Wally grumbled.

Remy stopped, holding the lipstick in her hand, watching as Cheshire pulled something out from under her dress. A written note.

"Sure you aren't," Artemis drawled, taking the letter from Cheshire. "I'm sure Remy will let you grab her ass someday. She's easy like that."

"Oh shut it," Remy snapped, her voice not really behind it. "Let's just get out of here." Cheshire smiled one last time and slithered out the door with a dainty wave and a wink.

"_Good idea,_" Robin said. "_The Prince is going to make a speech any second now. You need to be on that stage with him Remy."_

"Awesome," she muttered, before finishing her writing on the wall. _Ares bumped into me. And now Cheshire showed up. What do we do?_

_ Act normal, _Artemis wrote back, pointing at the letter.

Remy nodded, secretly thinking that this would be a terrible idea, but nevertheless unlatched the bathroom stall as Artemis wiped the red lipstick off the wall. Remy handed the lipstick to Artemis and decide _she _would be the one to exit first this time.

* * *

"Welcome my friends!" Prince Ferdinand bellowed, his arms held out wide. "We have gathered here today to celebrate our wonderful country."

_"The perimeter has been quiet for the past hour,_" Kaldur chimed in. "_I think it is safe to say that no one is getting into the hotel now. It would— wait a moment. I think I see something. No—yes—I will investigate myself, your team should stay here._"

There was silence on the comlink followed by a short burst of static

"_Everything good?" _Robin asked. "_Kaldur? Kaldur, are you there?_"

"I cannot thank you enough for the support and patriotism you all have shown each and every day," the Prince continued. Remy scanned the crowded hotel for any signs of movement. Behind her, Wally was speaking into his comlink.

"_He's gone,_" Robin said flatly.

"_What do you mean he's gone?" _Wally asked.

"_He disappeared off the video feed,_" Robin said, the sound of keys clicking in the background. "_Miss M, think you can get away to check it out?"_

There was no answer.

"_Megan?" _Wally said.

"_Megan and Kaldur dropped off grid?" _Artemis chimed in.

"Tonight, I have put together the best celebration money can buy. Because if there's anything our people know, it is how to party," Ferdinand joked, inciting laughter and cheers within the crowd.

Remy willed herself to stay calm as Robin started typing away furiously.

"_Conner too," _Robin muttered. "_Wally, do you guys see them?"_

"_Negative Rob," _Wally answered. Remy scanned the crown herself, keeping the smile plastered on her face.

"_Whoa," _the boy wonder exclaimed. "_This is not good, I repeat this is—"_

Robin didn't answer as the distinct sound of a door being slammed filtered through the ear piece. The sounds of fighting could be heard in the background, it was unmistakable.

A gasp sounded in Remy's ear and then Robin's voice filtered through. "_Some thugs, definitely Shadows just hit up my hotel room. We've been compromised."_

Remy looked up towards the balcony, frantically searching for either Cheshire or Ares. Whatever was going down had to be—

A loud explosion and a flurry of lights appeared outside the hotel. The crowd turned in awe at the sight of fireworks.

"I didn't plan for that to happen," Ferdinand said to Remy through gritted teeth. "Forgive me, my people, I am taking _far _too much of your time. Let's party!"

Wally took a few steps closer to the prince, warily watching for anyone that was trying to make a move. Remy caught sight of Cheshire's head as she popped up behind the balcony.

A resounding bang startled the crowd and Remy reacted immediately, leaping in front of the prince. The sounds of panic could be heard as Remy felt a small metal bullet enter into her right shoulder.

Within seconds, the crowd was in absolute panic and Wally was beside the prince shielding him from any potential shots. He yelled to Remy if she was alright.

Remy scrambled to her feet, ripping off her high heels. "Robin, where the _hell _is security?" Remy turned to Wally. "Come on! We have to—" another gunshot was fired in their general vicinity and the three of them ducked.

"You're not really British?" Ferdinand asked, outraged, obviously noticing her dropped accent.

Remy ignored him.

There was a crackling of static in Remy's ear, but Robin didn't answer.

"Someone must be messing with the signal," Wally said, pushing the frightened prince off the stage. Here in the crowd, they would have a better chance of avoiding the gun shots that were now raining down upon them.

Everyone in the hotel was scrambling like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to get to the exit first, but there were just _too many people._ As a group of drunk girls stumbled passed them, Remy noticed once man, standing completely still in the midst of all the chaos.

_Ares._

"Can you run with him?" Remy asked.

"Well yeah but—" Wally was cut off as he ducked out of the way of another bullet. "What are you going to do? Your shoulder—"

"Is fine," Remy lied, feeling the offending appendage throb as she said so. "Bullet went straight through. Now go. Lock yourself in the stairwell and I'll come and find you. Make sure you aren't seen."

With that, Remy turned to face Ares, a scowl on her face. He merely smirked at her and beckoned her with two fingers.

Remy charged at him, throwing a flurry of punches towards his face, despite the fact that her shoulder was screaming in protest. Ares was able to easily pin her to the ground.

"Let's make this look a little more challenging, yeah?" he smirked.

"Get off of me," Remy grunted, kicking her feet out from under herself. Ares stumbled backwards and off of her at the force of her kick.

Remy blocked Ares' attacks as he advanced on her, sidestepping his kicks and blocking his punches. Remy managed to get a few hits in, but it was difficult to really make any sort of impact with her shoulder the way that it was.

It was then that Remy remembered the gun. _Duh, _she thought stupidly.

"Sorry about this," Remy told him, reaching for the weapon.

"About what?" Ares asked confused.

Remy pulled it out, cocked it and promptly shot Ares in the foot. "That." She pulled back her left fist and delivered a strong uppercut to Ares' jaw, knocking him flat on his back, leaving Remy free to find Wally and the Ferdinand.

A lot of the people had cleared out, but it was still pretty crowded. And Remy hadn't seen Cheshire or any of her teammates, for that matter, for a long time. Not even Artemis had made an appearance.

As Remy pulled open the door to the stairwell, Remy sincerely hoped that Wally would be there. With everyone suddenly disappearing that night, her fear was not unfounded.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she caught sight of Wally, the Prince and another man she recognized as being part of his security team.

"I just took down a Shadows member," Remy coughed slightly. "Nobody that was on the rap sheets. Cheshire is here though."

"You're sure?" Wally asked, slipping his goggles off.

"No Wally, I've been bullshitting you this whole time and any moment now Robin and the rest of the team are going to jump out and yell 'Gotcha!'" Remy snapped.

From his spot on the stairwell floor, the Ferdinand jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Geez Louise," Wally whistled. "You are not very nice when you're injured. And where'd you get the gun?"

"He came at me with it, I wrestled it away and I shot him in the foot, relax." Remy turned to the other security guard. "Your name and what you do."

"I'm Atkins," the burly man answered. "I've been corresponding with your leader up in the hotel room all night and relaying the orders to my men. I've called for backup and a chopper is inbound to evacuate the Prince."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Wally asked, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get to the roof."

"Hold up," Remy said, grabbing Wally by the collar. "We're taking the elevator. If someone intercepts us on our way up the stairs, we're done for."

"We have to go out there again?" Ferdinand squeaked.

"Come on man," Wally groaned. "Grow a pair!"

"Excuse me?" If possible, the tone of his voice got even higher. He looked at Remy for help. "How are you so calm about all of this?"

"It's called grace under fire," Remy smirked, turning to face Wally and Atkins. "Cover Ferdinand. I'll go first."

"But you're shoulder—" Wally insisted.

"Did not stop me from kicking that guy's ass five minutes ago," Remy finished, her teeth gritted.

Before anyone could argue with her, Remy pushed the door open, her eyes scanning for anyone that was approaching them. It wasn't difficult, considering there were only a few hundred people left in the hotel, compared to the few thousand that had been there before.

The four of them made a break for the elevator. Once inside, Remy pressed the button for the fiftieth floor and slid down onto her butt as the elevator started upwards. Remy breathed out, wincing as her shoulder throbbed.

"Dude, you are _so _not okay," Wally said, kneeling down next to her.

"You got clipped a couple of times," Remy nodded. "Don't see you complaining."

Wally rolled his eyes. "Just grazing shots. I move too quickly to actually get hit. 'Sides, I heal at a faster rate. Check it out."

Remy glanced at Wally's arms, and she could see the rips in his suit where bullets had grazed. There were angry red welts directly underneath, but other than that, nothing.

"Lucky son of a bitch," Remy muttered, throwing a scathing glance at the blubbering prince. Remy frankly couldn't' understand how such a confident guy had been reduced to this in the face of a _tiny _bit of danger.

Okay, so it was _a lot _of danger. And Remy had become accustomed to it. And Ferdinand probably never had; he was just a playboy prince.

Then again…_He _hadn't even been touched yet. And with the way things were going, Remy was sure that Ares and Cheshire were not the only two members of the Shadows on the ground. There had to be more of them in order to pull something like this off.

"Here." Wally tore off the bottom end of his suit jacket and handed it to her. Remy stuffed it against her bleeding shoulder, nodding her thanks.

Without warning, the elevator screeched to a stop and their upward descent was halted.

Remy groaned as the emergency backup lights went on.

"I knew this was too easy."


	21. Everything Goes to Hell

Author's Note: Part three of this little mission the team is on :) Should be the last one… or not… I guess you'll find out when you get to the end lol. By the way, I sit here, in my bed writing, while my ankle throbs. Yes, it is sprained. Which means since I get to stay home tomorrow, there may be another chapter out. Please enjoy the benefits of my pain!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-one: Everything Goes to Hell

* * *

"This is just awesome," Wally muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"_What _are we supposed to do _now?_" Ferdinand practically whined. "We are going to run out of air soon."

"Sir, you need to relax," Atkins told the Prince.

"Don't tell me to relax!" Ferdinand snapped. "They're trying to kill me."

Remy sighed, getting to her feet. _Not so cool and confident now._"Can you give me a boost?" Remy asked Wally, eyeing the ceiling.

"What for— Oh no! You're crazy," Wally declared, attempting to pull Remy back down by her dress.

"Don't do that," she smacked his hand away. "Just lift me up. If I can get to the top of the elevator shaft then I can get us out of this."

"How?" Wally said flatly.

"I'm not sure yet," Remy admitted. "But I'll let you know when I find out. Now come on. Give me a hand here."

"May I suggest—" Atkins was trying to cut in.

"Shut up," Remy snapped. "This is between me and him."

Wally was not amused at Remy's sad attempt at humor. "Do you want to bleed out in an elevator shaft? Do you _want _to die?"

"Sometimes," Remy muttered, looking away.

"_What?_"

"Chill out, I was being sarcastic," Remy sneered. "Now for the last time. Up. And you better not look up my dress."

Wally shook his head, muttering something under his breath, before pulling a string hanging around his neck. It had a vial attached to the end and was filled with a clear liquid. He shoved it towards Remy.

"Take this before you do," Wally said.

Remy popped off the cap of the vial to reveal a sharp point meant for injection. "What is it?"

"Rob gave it to me for emergencies," Wally shrugged. "Said if I ever needed a boost to get the job done, this would do it."

Remy stared at the vial. Normally, she wasn't a fan of putting things into her body that were not supposed to be in it in the first place, but this _was _a bit of a special case. And if Robin had given it to him…

Remy jammed the injection point into her wrist, right where the vein was and waited until all the liquid had emptied out of the vial.

She waited.

"What's supposed to happen? I don't feel any different," Remy said.

"Give it time to work!" Wally hissed. "It takes the average person _at least_ one hundred and fifty seconds to absorb—"

"Whatever, we're wasting time," Remy said. "Boost now."

"Fine," Wally said, kneeling down. He snorted as Remy's bare foot was placed in his hand. "What happened to your shoes?"

"Took 'em off," Remy said. "_You _try running around in high heels on a mission."

"Fair enough. Up you go." Wally lifted Remy up by her ankles, the latter wobbling slightly as she pushed one of the ceiling panels out. Remy grasped the top of the elevator and pulled herself up and out, her shoulder burning as she did so.

"This is crazy," Wally muttered. "Is this really necessary? You don't even know if you're going to get out of the elevator shaft. There could be nothing up there except ceiling and more cable."

Remy smirked, her head poking back in. "No risk, no reward."

As Remy disappeared, Wally could hear the sounds of her grasping the elevator cables with her bare hands and feet.

The ginger haired speedster shook his head. "She really _is _insane."

* * *

Remy felt _wonderful_.

Whatever was in that vial had given her the much needed energy necessary for her to ignore the throbbing pain in her shoulder and climb up the elevator cables. Her hands had suffered multiple lacerations, but somehow, it didn't matter to her.

Remy felt as if she could run faster and jump higher than she normally could. She felt like she could take on a five hundred pound sumo wrestler even!

_It must be some kind of adrenaline, _Remy reasoned as she pulled herself out of the elevator shaft.

She had struggled not to look down as she climbed, and it _had _been difficult. She could hear Wally spouting off lame jokes through the ceiling tile the whole time, after all.

Remy wiped her bloody hands off on her dress, making a left at the end of the hallway, to enter the stairwell. She noted that the blood didn't really look that out of place on her red dress. It blended in rather well actually.

Somehow, she was not surprised to find Ares waiting for her in the stairwell.

"It's about time you got here."

Ares was seated on the stairwell, glancing at the dirt underneath his nails.

"Where's the team?" Remy asked, forcing her voice to sound uncaring.

"They're safe," Ares said. "For now." He glanced up at Remy. "Thanks for the shot in the foot by the way. It felt great."

"What was I supposed to do?" Remy shrugged. "I have two roles to play if you remember correctly."

Ares nodded. "You could've at least _grazed _my goddamn foot."

"I did." Remy snorted. "Now what's the plan?"

"So eager to get it over with." Ares shook his head. "Head up to the roof. Cheshire _may_ or may not have brought the rest of your _team_ to the roof. Of course, as we speak, the elevators are slowly climbing to the top of the building. The Prince will be joining you shortly."

Remy started as she climbed a few steps. "So I just scaled the elevator cables for no reason?"

Ares shrugged. "Pretty much."

Remy glared daggers at the man's head.

"Get over it," he ordered. "Now get up there. Play your part and we'll take care of the rest."

Remy growled, irritated at his domineering tone. She was a goddamn member of the Shadows _too. _Didn't that at least give her _some _freedom?

Apparently not.

When Remy reached the roof, she was surprised to find Cheshire bantering with someone else. Someone who was definitely not her. Someone who was definitely male. With flaming red hair and bad attitude.

"—unless you want to tell me where they are?" Red Arrow snapped, an arrow trained on Cheshire's chest.

The Asian woman smiled at him flirtatiously, completely unperturbed by the deadly point of the arrow trained towards her. She caught sight of Remy out of the corner of her eye and turned her head.

"I see one of the kids managed to evade capture," Cheshire laughed. "More for me to play with."

Red Arrow scowled in Remy's direction, clearly not pleased at the sight of her.

"Where are they, Cheshire?" Remy demanded.

"Now, now," Cheshire held up a finger. "_That _would be telling."

"Tell us," Red Arrow pulled the bow string tighter.

Remy stepped closer to Cheshire, her hands at the ready. Cheshire smirked, stepping away from both she and Red Arrow.

Remy heard the sound of the rooftop door creaking open. Wally's voice filtered through as he led the Prince and Atkins out on the roof.

"_Ookay _then." Wally stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the situation. "What are you doing here Spe—Red Arrow?"

"Later," Remy muttered, watching as Cheshire sized up Wally and Atkins. Her eyes lit up as she took in the appearance of Ferdinand. Her hand twitched towards the blade attached to her hip.

Remy didn't wait for her to make a grab. She lunged for the woman and knocked her to the ground. The two rolled around on the ground as Wally and Red Arrow watched in shock.

The simultaneous sound of a helicopter approaching and the rooftop door opening caused Remy to be momentarily distracted before she could land a punch. She looked towards the door in time to see Ares lunge for the Prince, only to be shot back into the wall by one of Red Arrow's arrows.

In that moment, Cheshire's fist connected with Remy's jaw and Remy was sent flying towards Red Arrow. Remy collided with his legs, effectively knocking him over.

"Get off," he growled, shoving her away.

Remy glared as she jumped to her feet, watching as Cheshire effectively knocked Atkins out and freed Ares from his arrow restraint. Cheshire made a move for the Prince as Ares launched himself at Wally.

The two engaged in a fist fight as the helicopter landed on the _other _side of the roof. _Dumbasses, _Remy thought, _the _fight_ is over here._

"Shit," Remy swore, shoving Red Arrow out of the way, as she pulled the gun from her garter once more.

Cheshire's blade was headed towards the cowering Prince. Remy reacted, firing a shot straight at Cheshire's arm, followed by another aimed straight at Ares's upper thigh.

Both bullets connected, causing Ares to fall to the ground in pain and Cheshire to drop her blade. Wally was on Ares in a heartbeat, knocking him out with a few quick punches.

Remy turned her attention to Cheshire who was backing away from the Prince, her hand clutched to her chest.

"You may have won this round kiddies," Cheshire seethed, glancing at Ares' unconscious body, "but this is _far _from over."

With that, Cheshire bounded over to the side of the building and leapt off of the roof. Remy dropped the gun and sprinted towards the edge of the roof. She spotted a small inflatable platform on the ground below and she watched as Cheshire's lithe body bounded off of the inflatable platform and took off running.

Remy sighed, knowing she shouldn't even try to go after her. She turned, finding Red Arrow much to close for comfort and stepped around him, helping Prince Ferdinand off the ground.

"Let's get him to the chopper," Wally suggested, releasing Ares to Red Arrow, who immediately began the process of securing his hands and feet together.

"We still have to find the others," Remy said. "And what _are _you doing here Arrow?"

"I _need _to get out of here _now,"_ Ferdinand growled.

"We get it, pretty boy," Red Arrow sneered, walking over to Atkins who was beginning to stir. "And I was tracking Cheshire, not that it's any of your business."

"Whatever, Red. Let's move," Remy said, grabbing Ferdinand's upper arm. She turned to Red Arrow. "Watch him and send Atkins to the chopper when he's up."

She and Wally steered Ferdinand towards the Chopper, both of them warily scanning for any more Shadows members. The chopper door opened and a Monacan secret service agent pulled the prince into the chopper.

"Nice shooting by the way," Wally commented. "How'd you get so good at that?"

"My dad used to take me shooting when I was younger." Remy shrugged, knowing it wasn't a complete lie. She and her dad _did _use to go to the shooting range when she was little, but Remy hadn't perfected her shot to such degree until a few years earlier.

At that moment, Atkins chose to make his way—albeit slowly—to the chopper. He nodded his thanks to both Remy and Wally before climbing in next to Ferdinand and slamming the chopper door just as the Prince was about to say something.

"Still don't understand why she just left," Wally mused, no doubt referring to Cheshire, as they watched the chopper soar off, "and why we weren't targeted for capture."

Remy shook her head. "I don't get it either, although I assume we won't have much trouble finding the others."

"And why's that?" Wally asked.

"Because they were trying to send a message," Remy thought aloud, turning to glance at Red Arrow and Ares. "Otherwise we would've been dead in a heartbeat."

* * *

"…and they basically just put us in the hotel fountain," Artemis said uncertainly. "It was really strange."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "They didn't harm you in anyway? They just put you in a fountain?"

"That's what she said," Conner snapped irritably, eliciting a glare from the Dark Knight.

Wally snickered at the age old phrase that immature teens everywhere used daily. Batman turned his glare towards the speedster. "Sorry," Wally coughed.

Batman turned towards Remy, who was now completely stitched up, her shoulder in a sling. "You didn't encounter any resistance until the elevator, you said?"

"Cheshire tried to execute Ferdinand on the stage, but Remy took the bullet," Wally explained. "Then we got trapped in the elevator, Remy went all hulk on us—" he grinned at her as she glared at him, "—and climbed to the top of the shaft and five minutes later the elevator started working again."

"We can assume that another member of the League of Shadows enabled the elevator once I left," Remy shrugged. "It was obviously a part of some twisted plan of theirs."

Batman rubbed his chin. "Where were you during all of this, Robin?"

"Dealing with a constant wave of thugs," Robin grumbled. "Half of the Prince's security team came to the room and attacked me. Obviously the Shadows bribed them or—"

"It was clear that we were compromised once I was attacked," Kaldur inserted. "It was one of the Prince's own secret servicemen that managed to incapacitate me. I tried to warn the others but—"

"That's irrelevant right now," Batman told him. "What matters is that Ferdinand escaped on the helicopter and is on his way to a safe location. You completed your mission, despite the complications."

"But Cheshire escaped!" Megan put in.

"She did," Batman allowed. "But now the League has a member of the League of Shadows—the agent known as Ares—in custody. Hopefully he will forthcoming with information."

The team made noises of agreement.

"Prince Ferdinand is—" Batman was cut off as someone spoke into his League comlink. "Yes, go ahead Diana. What—no how is that?—Atkins? Hold on a second." Batman addressed the team once more. "Are any of you familiar with the name John Atkins?"

"He was head of the Prince's security," Wally informed him. "Why?"

"That explains a lot," the Dark Knight muttered. He spoke back into the comlink. "No, I'll handle it _personally _this time. Inform the family that everything possible will be done."

"You're dismissed," Batman told the team suddenly. The teenagers stood, confused at the Dark Knight's sudden insistence for them to leave. "Except you three. Sit."

Wally, Artemis and Remy stopped in their tracks and sat back down. Robin looked back as he was the last one out, looking slightly hurt that he had not been asked to stay behind

Batman put his hands down on the table, glaring at them. "Kid Flash, Roulette, you two were with Atkins for the latter duration of the mission were you not?"

"We were," Remy said cautiously.

"And?"

"And what?" Wally shrugged.

"You didn't notice anything strange?" Batman persisted.

"Well, other than the fact that he was completely useless in terms of knowledge and fighting skills… No, not at all. Why?" Remy asked.

"Atkins was the inside source the Shadows had. I've just been informed that the Prince's helicopter was hijacked during flight and that its status is currently unknown."


	22. Teaming Up

Author's Note: Here we goo again… Things are getting interesting. This chapter is really just a set up for what's to come, not really much action. But I hope you enjoy anyways. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two: Teaming Up

* * *

"You're joking right?" Wally grinned, pointing at Batman with both hands. "Didn't know you were the funny type Bats."

The Batman merely glared. "You're dismissed Kid Flash. I need a word alone with Roulette and Artemis."

"But—" Wally cut off, catching the look on Batman's face. He quickly turned on his heel and sped out of the room.

Leaving Remy and Artemis alone with a _clearly _pissed off Dark Knight.

"What did you know about all of this?" Batman demanded.

Artemis put her hands on her hips. "Nothing. They didn't tell us _anything._"

"Do you actually expect me to believe that?"

"Yes." Remy spoke clearly and firmly. "We were just as surprised as you were. Ares collided with me on the hotel floor when I was with Wally and Ferdinand. I couldn't _say _that I had spotted him. He wasn't on the list of _known _Shadow operatives."

Batman turned from them. "That mistake has been corrected. In the future, do not _wait _for your entire team to disappear before taking action."

"We have two roles to play Batman," Remy snapped. "Give us some credit. We did the best we could."

"I'm confused though," Artemis put in. "The security team had obviously been infiltrated. We couldn't have done anything either way."

"That is troubling," Batman agreed.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Remy asked. "We have to get the Prince back."

"_We _don't have to do anything," Batman said. "_I _am personally handling the search and rescue of Prince Ferdinand."

Artemis and Remy shared a look. The blond archer spoke up first. "But it's our mess. We should be the ones to clean it up."

"You'll do none of the sort," Batman told them. "You're not trained to handle hostage situations. Neither of you are."

Remy blanched at being told what to do. She could get the Prince back if she _wanted _to. And she could damn well do it before Batman could.

"However," Batman held a hand up. "While you are both here for protection from the Shadows, you are meant to be gaining valuable information. I hope that you two will take that task more seriously in the future. It could prevent another fiasco like this one."

"This _fiasco _wasn't our fault alone. Had we known anything we would've told you," Artemis said. "We had no _clue _what was going on, even when Cheshire cornered us in the ladies room. She _literally _told us to just act normal."

"And you still didn't warn the team?" Batman growled. "There wasn't an identity issue with Cheshire. She's been a League target for a _long_ time."

"We couldn't sabotage them!" Artemis snapped. "We're supposed to be _working _for them as well!"

Batman was silent for a moment. "I think the both of you need to take a step back from all of this and think over what you need to do in order to make this arrangement more beneficial for the League."

Batman opened up his wrist computer and typed something in. "I'm taking both of you off of active duty for the next week. Training will continue as scheduled but I come to the team with a mission assignment, you'll be excluded.

"You can't do that!" Artemis protested.

"I just did," Batman said indifferently. "Enjoy your time off."

"You know what?" Remy snapped, backing away from both of them. "I didn't come here to be patronized. I came here to debrief just like everyone else. So if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving."

She let the door slam on the way out.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Artemis asked warily, walking alongside Remy as she headed towards the Mount Justice computer.

"I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing," Remy muttered.

"You're going to hack into the Mountain's computer aren't you?" Artemis shook her head. "Good luck with that one, genius. Nobody except _actual _League members—and probably Robin—know how to get in."

"Does it look like I care?" Remy snapped. She was tired of being pushed around by Batman.

"You're going to get in trouble!" Artemis said, trying to reason with her.

As if on cue, the metallic voice of Red Tornado sounded from behind them. "Roulette, Artemis. I ask that you refrain from hacking into the League's computer systems while here."

As suddenly as the red android had appeared, he—or it—was gone, leaving Remy and Artemis dumbfounded as to how they missed his metallic sounding approach.

"There's an easier way to do this," Remy muttered, pulling out her phone.

"Do what?" Artemis cried, exasperated.

Remy looked at Artemis. _Really _looked her in the eye for the first time in the past five minutes. "This is something I need to do. _You _need to stay out of it."

"I don't like where this is going," Artemis warned, her voice low.

Remy shrugged, dialing Ares' phone number, and putting the phone up to her ear. "You don't have to."

"Just because—"

Remy held up a finger, silencing Artemis as Ares picked up his phone.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Ares. It's Remy. I've got a proposition for you."

* * *

Remy crouched on the edge of the Star City capital building only a day after having called in a favor with Ares. She wasn't supposed to meet Dinah for patrol for another hour at least.

_Thump._

Remy smirked, turning slowly to greet Red Arrow. "Took you long enough."

Red Arrow's upper lip curled in disgust. "You got me here, now what do you want?"

"I think I know where to find Prince Ferdinand," Remy told him.

"Wait, what?" Red Arrow looked confused. "You guys got him on the helicopter, didn't you?"

_Oops,_ Remy thought, _guess Batman is _really _keeping this on the down low._

"Well, we did," Remy shrugged, "but the helicopter was hijacked and diverted to another location. The head of the Prince's security was a Shadows member."

"And shouldn't _you _have known that?" Red Arrow sneered.

Remy scoffed. "I'm on the YJ team you dolt."

"I know you're a double agent," Red Arrow told her, folding his arms. "I'm just not sure for who yet."

"I work for the Justice League," Remy said, making her voice sound as convincing as possible. "They're helping me get out from underneath the Shadows thumb and in return I'm giving them information."

Red Arrow studied her for a moment. "You seem truthful, but you're a Shadow. You _can't _be trusted."

Remy groaned, rolling her eyes underneath her mask. "I came here to ask you for help."

Red Arrow snorted. "The great and powerful, all-knowing Roulette needs _my _help? That's rich."

Remy struggled not to snap in his face. "My plan benefits you as well."

Red Arrow's eyebrow shot up. "Plan?"

"Batman is handling Prince Ferdinand's situation _personally_," Remy told him, fingering the lace on her costume. "I got stonewalled when I asked if the team could fix the mess, since it _is _our mess."

Red Arrow's face lit up in understanding. "You're tired of being treated like a sidekick."

Remy shrugged. "I'm going to prove I can get things done. And you're going to help me. We _both _get the credit."

"I've already proved myself," Red Arrow informed her smugly. "What do I get out of this?"

"With Dr. Roquette?" Remy asked. "Nice try. But you gave the mission to the team. Not your credit."

"You're a nosy bitch you know that?" Red Arrow snapped.

"And you're an asshole," Remy said, unperturbed. "But I know something you don't know."

"And what's that?"

"I know where Cheshire is. There's your reward."

Red Arrow seemed to think about this for a minute. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"

Remy smirked. "You don't. But sometimes you have to risk it." Red Arrow shook his head as if he couldn't believe he was standing here. "Do we have a deal?"

Red Arrow glanced at Remy's outstretched hand. He slapped his own hand in hers and they shook on it. " I can't believe I'm saying this but… yeah, it's a deal."

* * *

As Remy watched Red Arrow depart from the Capital Building roof, Remy turned in time to see Black Canary drop down on the roof.

"That wasn't suspicious at all," she commented, coming to stand next to Remy.

"You're early," Remy stated, suppressing the fact that she had been startled by Dinah's sudden appearance.

"And _you're_ up to no good," she said, pointing to Remy.

Remy shrugged. "We just happened to run into each other."

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "I heard you say 'do we have a deal?'"

"We were making amends," Remy said offhandedly.

"You _really _expect me to believe that?" Dinah put her hands on her hips. "Come on. Ever since you and Artemis have gotten back, you've been acting strange."

Remy shook her head, looking away. "You're imagining things."

"Oh so I imagined the five voicemails I left on your cell phone that you never responded to," Dinah said smartly. "Did I also imagine that you skipped training this morning? And did I also imagine that you haven't been to Mount Justice since your debrief with Batman?"

Remy was silent before answering. "No."

"Then when I ask you what the hell is going on with you, I expect you not to lie to me," Dinah snapped.

Remy's head snapped up at this. Dinah had never used _that _tone of voice with her.

"Look I'm not lying," Remy protested. "Red Arrow and I got to talking a bit. He threatened me, told me not to hurt the team and such. And I told him what was going on. We both promised to be more civil."

"What happened in Bhutan?" Dinah asked, ignoring Remy's story completely.

Remy's face heated up. "It's none of your business. And furthermore, I don't feel like talking about it."

Dinah blanched. "You know, Roulette. You make _extremely _difficult to get close to you."

"Did you ever think for a minute that I _like_ being alone?" Remy asked. "Did you?"

Dinah gritted her teeth. "It's like we take three steps forward and two steps back. I know Batman took you off active duty with the team, but I don't—"

"_We _don't do anything of the sort," Remy snapped " and this has nothing to do with Batman taking me off active duty. You're _not_ my real sister. I can handle things _on my own_ despite what you and Batman and everyone else on this _fucking _planet seems to think. And I _don't _need to talk about anything, because _I am fine._"

Dinah sighed and shook her head. "Go home."

Remy narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I can patrol the city myself. Next time, check your attitude at the door." Dinah shrugged. "When you learn to do that, you can come back and patrol with me."

Remy stared at Dinah, her mouth hanging open unattractively. She couldn't believe this. Dinah was _punishing _her? Remy hadn't gotten in trouble with an adult, well, since her parents had been around to ground her.

First Batman, and now _Dinah?_ Remy couldn't believe it.

"You can't do that," Remy protested.

But Dinah was already gone.

Remy felt something akin to sadness, or maybe shame, work its way into her system and she immediately shook the feeling off, pulling out her cell phone.

She waited as the phone rang. "Ares? Yeah, we need to move the timetable up a bit. I plan on leaving tomorrow."


	23. Rescue, Capture

Author's Note: No author's note. Except that I'm a mean person for turning this into another cliff hanger.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three: Rescue, Capture

* * *

"_Shit_. Nice hook up Red," Remy muttered, glancing at the unmarked private jet at the Star City airport. It was either really late at night or rather early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it, and Remy had yet to see many other people catching a flight at this time.

"Wait until you see the inside," Red Arrow smirked, gesturing for her to go first up the steps.

Remy raised an eyebrow, but obliged, jogging up the steps. She had informed Red Arrow of the newly minted timetable all thanks to Black Canary's suspension and he had been more than happy to speed things up if it meant finding Cheshire more quickly.

"I'm not impressed," Remy said, totally straight-faced. The private jet looked like something the owner of Apple would have. It was extravagant in all the right ways without being too gaudy. _Really _nice leather seats, plasma televisions and a fully stocked bar. "Couldn't you at least have gotten sheepskin blankets for the flight?"

"Ha ha," Red Arrow said, moving past her to the mini-fridge. He bent down and grabbed two cans of soda. "If you really want one though, they're in the closet."

Remy snorted. "How'd you get the hook up?"

"Gift from Green Arrow," he answered, taking a seat in one of the plush airline chairs.

Remy glanced up towards the cockpit, watching them fiddle with the controls, before taking a seat across from Red Arrow.

The pair sat in a tentatively peaceful silence as the pilots announced over the loud speaker that they would begin take off procedures.

Red Arrow was the first one to break the silence. He tossed Remy a can of soda, still fiddling with the other in his hands. "So Canary took you off active duty?"

"Don't remind me," Remy snapped.

Red Arrow raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just trying to be civil."

"You? Civil?" Remy raised an eyebrow. "You weren't exactly civil when you broke into my apartment or at Mount Justice or—wait was it really _just _last night? Gosh we have such great _history _together!"

"Spare me the sarcasm. If I'm being honest…" Red Arrow trailed off. "You're helping me with a personal vendetta. And I know where you're coming from with the whole proving yourself thing."

"Yeah, well," Remy shrugged. "Don't expect me to start being nice to you. After we're done with this mission, I can honestly say that I hope I _never _see you again."

"Likewise," he muttered, a peculiar look coming over his face. However, it was gone before Remy could even notice it.

"One question though?" Red Arrow said. Remy nodded, giving him permission. "You said Ares—your handler—was in the League's custody? How'd you get the down low on the Prince if he's locked up.

Remy's face went blank. "I—I hadn't thought of that." Remy furrowed a brow. Batman _had_ said Ares was in custody not five minutes before she'd made a call to him. "Can we not talk about this? I'll—um explain later. Or something."

A lie. But Remy _was _truly dumbfounded. Ares had been locked up and there was no way he could've escaped so quickly. They were the Justice League for god's sake, and they were the Justice league for a reason.

"Fair enough," he grunted, popping open his soda finally. He reached under the seat and pulled out a briefcase, opening it to grab an iPad. "Maybe we should go over the plan?"

"On an iPad?" Remy asked. "I need a map, first of all. And something to draw a diagram with."

"Done and done," Red Arrow said, moving something around on the touch screen. "There's an app for both of those."

"Really?" Remy said flatly.

"Oh yeah. There's an app for everything."

Remy shrugged, but relented, taking the iPad out of his grasp. "Let's get to work then."

* * *

The plane descended upon the country of Hungary much sooner than Remy had expected to arrive. She had expected the flight to take, well, practically as long as the flight to Bhutan. Then again, she wasn't exactly well-versed in international traveling.

"I've got a call to make," Remy told Red Arrow, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Tell the pilots to land just outside of that little village we just passed.

Red Arrow rolled his eyes but nodded, getting up. Remy slipped out her cell phone and put in a call to Cheshire.

Remy was quick and to the point.

"We're landing in Hungary right now. About two miles from your location. Approximately thirty minutes until building one will be completely clear."

Remy ended the phone call, not even waiting for Jade's agreement, and she stuffed it back into her boot. No reason to wait for Jade's incredibly long list of instructions that was sure to come.

She paused to adjust her costume. It was true, even though Red Arrow was aware of who she was—thanks to her own stupidity—she still didn't want to make it a habit of being dressed like a civilian around him. After all, he had always been in costume when she had seen him. Why shouldn't she be as well?

"Hey!" Red Arrow called, interrupting her thoughts. "We're making contact with the ground in about thirty seconds! Grab your gear and let's get going."

* * *

Remy held up her fist in a _hold up_ gesture as she and Red Arrow approached the outskirts of the Shadows complex. A few of the guards were heading their way.

Remy fingered her folded up staff in her hands and waited until the two men passed by their hidden spot in the bushes. She leaped out behind them, extending the staff before promptly clubbing one of the guards unconscious.

Before the other could even turn around, Red Arrow released a small capsule of a gas that effectively put the man to sleep. Remy covered her mouth as the gas dissipated and pulled the body of the unconscious thug back behind the bushes.

"You shouldn't have wasted that," Remy snapped, retracting her staff. "I'm more than capable of taking out those two thugs." She thought for a moment. "And you couldn't have waited until I was out of the way?"

"We're working together remember?" Red Arrow whispered harshly. "Now come on, let's go."

Red Arrow scampered on ahead, leaving Remy no choice but to follow.

_Jerk, _she thought as she and Red Arrow sprinted towards the first building in sight. they hugged the wall to avoid being spotted. They couldn't see much that was going on above them, however they _could _easily avoid the guard spotlight roaming the grounds.

Remy secured the staff to her waist and looked at Red Arrow expectantly. The redheaded archer took out his bow and procured an arrow with a grappling hook.

He opened his arm. "Climb on."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "No way. I don't want to catch whatever it is that you _clearly _have."

"You know how to use a bow?"

"Well no but—"

"Then you can take the stairs I suppose," Red Arrow sneered, unleashing his grappling hook. It made a small metallic sound as it secured itself on the side of the building.

"Fine," Remy grumbled, wrapping an arm around Red Arrow's neck. His free arm secured her and the two of them quickly were lifted up the side of the building and onto the third story balcony.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Red Arrow said, smiling condescendingly.

"I am struggling to control my gag reflexes at this very moment," Remy admitted, waiting as Red Arrow retracted his grappling hook arrow and placed it back into his quiver. He made his way over to the door.

Remy waited as he yanked on the door knob all to no avail.

"I think it's locked," she told him after three more tugs on the door knob.

"Shut up," he muttered, pulling out a lock picking kit.

Remy simply stood there her arms folded as he set to work on opening the door.

"You know this is _one _of those times I actually _wish _the team was here," Roy grumbled.

"Just break it down." Remy rolled her eyes, casting her eyes in the direction of the guard house not a hundred feet away.

"That'll set off the alarms. Robin at least could've—I don't know—hacked something," Roy said. "Shut off the spotlight."

Remy narrowed her eyes as she watched one of the guards—was he _waving _at her? She took a step forward, stopping when she hear the almost inaudible sound of someone behind her.. Before she could turn around, a rope wound its way around her neck and she was pulled backwards against someone's chest.

"Red," she choked out almost inaudibly.

"I mean you're pretty useless when it comes to electronics," Red Arrow was saying as he tried yet again to open the door.

Remy's attacker pulled the rope back tighter, cutting off all verbal forms of communication. Getting extremely irritated with Arrow's complete obliviousness and her attacker's flare for the dramatic,—in Remy's opinion, there were _much _more efficient ways to kill someone than choking them out—Remy threw her elbow back into her attacker.

The attacker momentarily loosened his grip and Remy was able to slip out. She took advantage of this and kicked the guy in a _very _painful place and shoved her palm to his nose.

_Definitely broken, _Remy thought smugly as she pushed the guy off the roof. _And now… definitely dead. _She caught sight of the sickening angle the attacker's neck was currently set at.

"If you'd rather stand there and enjoy the scenery…" Red Arrow's voice sounded from behind her.

Remy absently rubbed her neck and whirled around to find the door open. "Did you not _see _that?"

Red Arrow raised an eyebrow. "See what?"

Remy groaned.

* * *

"The Prince obviously isn't being held here!" Red Arrow snapped after they finished a sweep of the first building. "Cheshire isn't anywhere in sight."

"There are quite a few more buildings Red," Remy said, matching his tone. "She _did _say we'd have to find her! Don't' tell me it's past your bedtime or something. _You_ signed up for this."

"Yeah," he huffed. "When I was under the impression that you knew what you were doing!"

"I do know what I'm doing," Remy protested, "but see, there's this little thing called _patience_, something that you _clearly_ don't' have!"

"Oh and you _do_?"

"I'm not the one who started this!"

"You probably don't even know where Cheshire is!" Roy accused.

"Of course I do," Remy snarled. "She's my mentor."

"Which is exactly why I shouldn't have trusted you in the first place!"

The sound of clapping stopped both Remy and Red Arrow from arguing any further. Remy extended her staff and dropped into a fighting stance. When she glanced beside her, she noticed Red Arrow had drawn his bow.

"Well that was _entertaining. _You two should consider careers in acting,_" _Cheshire purred from somewhere in the rafters. "Nice to see you again Roulette."

"Cheshire," Remy greeted her. "Mind stepping into the light?"

On cue, Cheshire dropped lithely down onto the hard cement floor of the building. "And Red Arrow as well. Oh how I _love _reunions."

"Cheshire," Red Arrow snarled, taking a step towards the woman.

Remy put a hand out to stop him. "Not until we have the Prince."

Red Arrow pulled back, making sure to keep a firm hand on his bow.

"Have you brought him like I asked?" Remy glanced at Cheshire.

"Of course," she smirked, lifting her hand to her ear as she spoke into what was obviously a comlink. "Bring the prince in."

She smiled at Remy and Red Arrow maliciously, as she paced. "They're on their way."

"This better not be a trap Cheshire," Red Arrow warned. "We didn't come here tonight to play games."

"I'm not playing any games, in fact I—" Cheshire broke off as a burst of static screamed loudly from her eardrum. So loud, in fact, that Remy could hear it from some twenty feet away.

"I don't have time for this," Cheshire said into her comlink. "I'm handling something much more delicate." She paused, obviously listening to the other person talk. "Well then _handle_ it."

Cheshire turned as the door some twenty feet behind her opened up. Ferdinand was being dragged in by two guards, with shackles around his wrist.

"Well I've lived up to my part of the bargain," Cheshire said, watching as the Prince was released from his shackles and thrown to the floor somewhere between the two groups. "Now it's your turn."

"Our turn?" Red Arrow raised an eyebrow. "We weren't making a deal when we said we wanted the Prince."

As if on cue, Ferdinand started whimpering from his spot on the floor. Quickly he crawled towards Red Arrow, seeking refuge a few feet behind him.

Remy sighed, rolling her eyes towards the heavens. "I'm sorry about this Red."

"About what?" Red Arrow seemed confused.

_Good._

Remy suddenly thrust her staff into his abdomen and quickly knocked the bow out of his hands, before delivering a blow to the back of his head.

"That." Remy glanced at his unconscious body and then back to Cheshire. "He's all yours."


	24. Rescue Again

Author's Note: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT NORMALLY READ AUTHOR'S NOTES… THIS ONE IS VERY IMPORTANT. VITAL TO THE STORY. Sorry about that. Had to get your attention. And sorry for not responding to anyone's reviews :/ I've been super busy what with the new school year starting up and such. Sorry! Just know that I so appreciate the fact that you guys take a few extra seconds to write down your thoughts. Reviews make me super happy and keep me writing! Oh and so here's the question I have for you guys concerning the story. I have two different paths for this story to take and one of the paths will bring this fic up to about 50 chapters, roughly. The other one will probably stop at 30 but there will be a part two/ sequel to the story. What would you guys rather see? Let me know please. Also, school starts for me this week so updates will probably be less frequent. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Four: Rescue (Again)

* * *

"Take him to the holding cells," Cheshire instructed the two guards behind her. She stepped over Red Arrow's unconscious body, a smirk playing on her lips. "Thanks for taking care of that. Saved me loads of trouble.

"My pleasure."

"And him," Cheshire added to the guards, pointing to the cowering Ferdinand. The second guard obliged and yanked the Prince to his feet.

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Why exactly did you need him?"

"Ra's al Ghul wanted the opportunity to deal with Red Arrow _personally_ after the Rhulesia incident," Cheshire grinned.

"What on earth could he want with a solo vigilante?" Remy scoffed, watching as Cheshire's guards secured Red Arrow's wrists and feet. "He's obviously not too bright."

Cheshire laughed, beckoning for Remy to follow her out of the storage room. "Honestly? His achievements since refusing to join the Junior Justice League are few but impressive. _He _is impressive and I'm not just talking about his _physical _assets."

Remy's face heated up as Cheshire's voice took on a sultry tone. _Red Arrow and Cheshire?_ Remy almost gagged. _That'll happen when a monkey flies out of my ass._

The cool night air greeted the pair as they exited the building. Allowing the guards bearing Red Arrow's body to go first, Cheshire and Remy passed by the dead body of Remy's earlier attacker.

"I see you had some fun on your way here," Cheshire snorted.

"He was in my way," Remy waved her off, completely avoiding looking at the dead body. "Now you were saying…"

"Oh right. Red Arrow managed to stop one of my assassinations—granted Luthor was in on it—and he tracked me to a Shadows hideout in New York. He put up a pretty good fight before retreating."

Remy snorted, floored at something she said. "Wait, you actually expect me to believe that _Lex Luthor_ is a member of the League of Shadows?"

"Not exactly," Cheshire said coyly.

Remy stared at the Asian woman sardonically. "Feel free to elaborate."

"In due time, Remy," Cheshire assured her with a chuckle. "For now, we've finally got a prisoner in these holding cells worth interrogating."

* * *

Remy stared through the one way window, amused and slightly disgusted as Cheshire flirted with Red Arrow.

"Haven't you heard the saying that you should never mix business with pleasure?" Remy had asked condescendingly before Cheshire had entered the interrogation room.

Cheshire hadn't responded.

Currently, she sat across from the now conscious Red Arrow, smirking seductively and waggling her eyebrows as she asked him pointless questions about League secrets.

Remy sighed as Red Arrow let out another angry retort of, "I'm not telling you anything!"

She glanced up at the clock on the wall and visibly relaxed. Just five more minutes and she could be gone from this god awful place. Remy couldn't even fathom why the Shadows would have a base in Hungary anyways. This village was literally in the middle of _nowhere._

Remy pressed down on the microphone button and spoke. "Cheshire, I'm going to have a little _chat_ with our resident Prince."

Cheshire didn't turn away from the scowling red head in front of her. "I'll be here."

Remy shook her head, releasing the microphone button. Discreetly, she grabbed Red Arrow's quiver, hanging off a hook on the wall. Making sure she wasn't seen, Remy found the small black box taped to the inside. Shouldering the quiver, she clicked the switch on the black box and slid it underneath the table, watching as the red numbers on the timer lit up.

_Five minutes to spare._

* * *

The standard holding cells were located just above the interrogation rooms in the same building. As Remy made her way up the stairs she had an inkling of that feeling you get when you know someone is watching you.

Turning her head to check, she reaffirmed her belief that no one was there and entered onto the second floor. It was noticeably clear of any guards—strange considering that Prince Ferdinand was being held there.

She glanced in the first few holding cells to find them empty and was about to peak through one with a slightly more tinted window when she noticed a small sliver of movement behind her.

She whirled around just in time to block a fist to her head.

"Shit," Remy snarled, releasing the black leather clad fist from her grip.

_Batman._

"You seem to have a problem with following orders, Roulette," he said by way of greeting.

Remy sighed, looking away. "I was trying to prove a point."

"All that you proved to me is that you're arrogant and disobedient, not to mention incompetent," Batman told her. "Now I've got to get Red Arrow out of this mess."

"It's part of the plan!" Remy snapped. "Red Arrow and I _both _agreed on trading him for the Prince."

"Then where _is _the Prince?" Batman snapped.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Remy asked.

Batman glared at her. "You get the Prince. I'll get Red Arrow. We can talk about the fact that you disobeyed a direct order once we're clear of this location."

Remy clenched a fist. "I've armed a small explosive device to go off in about two minutes. Cheshire will be momentarily distracted and Red Arrow can escape. She took off his handcuffs about thirty seconds into their flirti—interrogation session."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "And how were you planning on escaping the complex once the guards are on high alert?"

"We've got a car about three clicks out," Remy shrugged. "We're running. Now come on, we need to find Ferdinand."

"Cell block 21. I'll meet you at your vehicle," Batman said before disappearing into the shadows.

"How do you know that?" she demanded in exasperation.

Remy scowled as, predictably, he didn't answer. She jogged down the hallway towards Ferdinand's cell instead.

_Who the hell does he think he is? _He had the nerve to call _her _arrogant, when he was the one barging in on _her _rescue operation. It was a sound enough plan. And it was _going _to work. Remy's plans _always _worked out. For god's sake _she _planned it.

Okay.

_That was a bit egotistical, _she allowed, _and he _is _my superior. _

As she reached cell block 21, she told herself to be a little more lenient as far as Batman was concerned. He _was _trying to help her after all.

Swearing under her breath at the lack of a key in the vicinity, Remy pulled out her staff and extended the sharp point, jamming it into the lock. She had to jiggle it a bit, but the door soon swung open, revealing Ferdinand.

He stared up at Remy in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you out," Remy told him, nodding for him to get up. "For real this time."

"I thought you were one of the good guys!" Ferdinand snapped. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"I _am _a good guy," Remy said, exasperated. "But I've got explosives rigged to blow any second, so you'll forgive me if I don't feel like explaining the whole story. We've got to go _now._"

Ferdinand looked hesitant.

"Unless you'd rather I leave you here," Remy shrugged. "With Cheshire and the Shadows."

"No!" Ferdinand said, swallowing. "I—I'll go. If you—"

Ferdinand was cut off as the floor shook beneath them, accompanied by the rumbling of an explosion.

Remy grinned, grabbing Ferdinand's upper arm. "That's our cue."

* * *

"Here!" Remy shouted, tossing Red Arrow's quiver and bow to him. "We've got to hit it. Like _now._"

As if on cue, loud sirens began broadcasting that there was an intruder began ringing. Remy didn't' even glance back at Cheshire's unconscious form as they hurried out of the building. Already, several guards were converging upon their location.

Red Arrow quickly shouldered his pack and fired stunning arrows at the guards heading their way. Remy lunged towards the remaining guard and knocked him out with a quick blow to the head.

"I'll go on ahead and clear as many guards as I can," Remy told Red Arrow. "Watch the Prince."

Red Arrow nodded, notching another arrow in his bow. "Stick with me."

"See you on the far side," Remy said over her shoulder as she ran towards the main gate of the complex.

Not twenty feet from where she had started running, three more guards were heading directly for her and several more were not far behind.

Remy exhaled slowly, pressing her legs to run faster as she dropped to the ground, slide-tackling the first guard who in turn knocked the other on his ass. She quickly knocked both of them on the back of the head before hopping up to hit the third one _right _where it counts before sweeping his legs out from underneath him.

She delivered the knockout blow and kept running, briefly checking that Red Arrow and the Prince were following. She watched as he fired a few arrows at two guards encroaching upon them from the side before continuing her forward sprint to the gate.

Gunshots were fired in her direction as several more guards with guns got in a bit closer to her. She zigzagged to avoid the bullets and dropped into a roll, only coming up once she had made contact with the first assailant.

He promptly dropped his gun and proceeded to knock the staff out of Remy's hands. Remy grabbed his fist mid punch and twisted his arm around so that his back was against her chest. She forced him forward in front of her, allowing his body to take the bullets being fired at her.

As a second and third attacker charged at Remy, guns blazing, she noticed the two behind _them _were promptly incapacitated by arrows. She dropped the dead body of the first guard and kicked the gun out of one of the attacker's hands and delivered a spin kick to his chin. Turning her attention to the other attacker, she struck at his clavicle with a quick snap of her hand and wrist.

The man audibly cried out and Remy knew that she had at least fractured the bone. She forced her palm to his nose and shoved it upward, breaking it. In her peripheral vision, she could see the first attacker slowly rising from the ground, holding his head. Remy grasped the broken nosed man by the collar and practically threw him at the rising attacker.

Both of them fell to the ground with an audible thud.

Neither of them tried to get up.

Quickly scanning the area for any more guards, Remy decided it was mostly safe.

"We're clear," Remy shouted back to Red Arrow, picking her staff up from the ground.

* * *

Red Arrow practically flung Ferdinand into the back seat of their jeep before taking the wheel. Remy slid into the passenger seat, scanning the surrounding area for Batman. She had pretty much accepted the fact that she was going to be in _deep_ shit when he spoke with her.

"You in some kind of hurry, Red?" Remy raised an eyebrow as he stepped on the gas.

"Who knows how long Cheshire will stay knocked out for." Red Arrow told her.

"Did you get whatever it is that you wanted from her?"

"No." He gripped the steering wheel tighter, making a sharp left into the forest. "Getting the Prince was more important."

"The airport is actually that way," Remy said, pointing in a westerly direction.

He glanced up in his rear view mirror. "We're being followed."

Remy glanced in the mirror on her side and confirmed this. The black sedan's windows were tinted so much Remy could barely make out the shape of the driver's cowl, but it was definitely the Dark Knight. "Yeah. By _Batman_. Pull over."

The black sedan's windows were tinted so much Remy could barely make out the shape of his cowl, but it was definitely him.

Red Arrow turned his head to look at her. "What? Are you crazy? I'm not stopping until we're at the airport and _he_—" he jerked a thumb in Ferdinand's direction "—is on his way to the Alps."

Remy held her hands up. "Fine. But now you don't have to go through the forest. It's _just _Batman."

Red Arrow snorted. "He's going to kill you when we get back."

"Don't remind me."

"I mean _you _are probably in a shitload of trouble."

"Thanks. I got it."

"He'll probably try to beat you up?"

Remy scowled. "Is this your attempt at humor, Red? Let me tell you. _Not funny._"

He laughed lightly, glancing over at her. "I'll make sure they play something nice at your funeral."

"Oh fuck you."


	25. Rock Bottom

Author's Note: School sucks. Seriously. Isn't your senior year of high school supposed to be the year you get to take it easy and do the fun stuff? Apparently not. Anyways, in regards to this story. I will be ending No Risk in a probably about 10 chapters and then I will follow up with a part two. And just a heads up, this is the angstiest chapter I have ever written and it is very cathartic for Remy. Thanks to all of you who provided your feedback. And who is excited for September? Only like three more weeks until new episodes! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five: Rock Bottom

* * *

To say that the atmosphere on Red Arrow's jet was tense was possibly the understatement of the century.

After securing a plane to the alps—flown by men personally chosen by the Dark Knight himself—for the prince, Batman had decided to fly back to the states with Remy and Red Arrow so that they could discuss her _transgression._

"Well this is awkward," Red Arrow stated from beside Remy. "I'll get drinks."

"You directly disobeyed an order, Roulette," Batman told her, as Red Arrow sauntered off.

"I was just trying to help," Remy explained. "The fact that the Shadows captured Ferdinand was _my _fault. I don't know about you, but my parents taught me how to clean up my own messes."

Batman glared at her, and Remy shrunk slightly back into her seat.

"Do you have any idea how much damage could have been done tonight?" Batman asked.

"Everything went fine," Remy protested. "I had it all planned out and see? My plan worked."

"It worked because you're unusually lucky," Batman said flatly. "Cheshire could have easily stopped you if _one _thing hadn't gone right. Then both Red Arrow _and _the prince would still be in the custody of the Shadows."

"I wasn't going to let that happen," Remy said firmly.

"You might think you're old enough to take these things on by yourself," Batman started. "But you're a seventeen year old girl. You have neither the foresight nor the experience to take on missions by yourself."

Remy's face twisted up in indignation. "You're joking right? I've been working for the Shadows for at least two years before you _ever _showed up. They don't just take anyone."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "You were nothing but a gun for hire. Had you failed a mission, I doubt they would have kept you around."

"So you're saying the _only _reason they're keeping me around now is so I can sabotage the League from the inside?"

"Yes."

The biting silence that followed Batman's short answer grated on Remy's ears. She knew he was right—he was Batman for a reason. And he was only echoing the thoughts she'd had throughout her partnership with the Shadows. As she had completed assassinations for them, she had accepted the fact that she might not make it home one night if the Shadows suddenly decided to cut her out.

She had become accustomed to expecting betrayal.

But now, as Batman said these words to her, she couldn't bring herself to admit that she was expendable or useless.

"I've never failed a mission," Remy added, as if that would negate the obvious truth in Batman's words.

"That may be true," Batman said. "But I can't have you compromising my authority in front of my team. Not only does it reflect poorly on me, but it reflects poorly on you as well."

Remy opened her mouth, about to retort, when Red Arrow slid into the seat beside her, drink in hand.

"Don't mind me," he said, waving her off.

Remy sighed and addressed the Dark Knight. "_You _hired me because I get things done. That's what I did tonight."

"_I _put you on my team so that _you _could get a second chance," Batman growled. "But you have repeatedly defied my authority, ignored the offers of help from your teammates—"

Remy groaned, interrupting him. "I can't help it if they're incompetent!"

Remy's hand shot up over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Batman stopped, about to say something and looked at Remy incredulously. Beside her, Red Arrow drummed his fingers on his plane table, averting his eyes.

"You mean to tell me that the protégés of the _Justice League _are incompetent?" Batman asked incredulously.

Remy rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that."

"You obviously did. Now explain," Batman growled. "I, for one, would like to hear your opinion on the matter."

Remy folded her hands, one of the telltale signs that she was nervous—and she was.

"Obviously Artemis and Robin aren't, but the others are completely fallible. Megan's a glorified telekinetic cheerleader who's afraid of a little fire, Aqualad is a fish out of water, Conner is a dumb brute, and Wally is _just plain stupid._"

"Oh and I suppose you're perfect?" Red Arrow snorted.

"Stay out of this," Batman said as Remy bit out, "Shut up."

Red Arrow mumbled something under his breath and stood, moving to sit across the aisle from them instead.

"You asked for my opinion," Remy said flatly.

Batman turned his attention back to her. "I'm suspending you from the team. Indefinitely."

Remy practically exploded. "You can't do that!"

Batman held up a hand and counted off on his fingers. "You disobeyed a direct order; you're unable to work with your teammates—"

"You have nothing to back that statement up," Remy snapped. "We did fine at the LexCorp facility."

"—you're secretive—" Batman counted off another finger.

"So are you!" Remy sputtered.

"—and your loyalties are questionable at best," Batman finished.

Remy grabbed at her in a frustrated gesture. "_I_ am a _goddamn double agent!_ What do you expect me to do?"

Batman stayed silent for a moment and shook his head. "Your very response to this issue is proving my point. You're not mature enough to handle such a delicate position."

Remy opened her mouth to retort but Batman held up a hand stopping her. "Did you even consider the repercussions of your little plan tonight?"

Remy raised an eyebrow. "I executed perfectly. What other repercussions could there possibly be? The prince is safe."

"And you also left a fellow Shadows member in the debris of an explosion that _you _caused," Batman said darkly. "I know for a fact that you didn't send word ahead to Cheshire."

"How do you—"

"How exactly _were_ you planning on talking your way out of the fact that you helped two of their high profile prisoners escape? And that you left Cheshire in a flaming pile of rubble and assaulted their entire security staff?"

Remy _hadn't _thought of that. "Well I—"

She shut her mouth as realization dawned on her.

In her quest for personal glory, she had completely ignored how the Shadows would factor into her plan. What it would look like from their side.

_How could I have been so stupid?_

"Now you see the dilemma," Batman pointed at her. "Whether you realize it or not, tonight, you chose your side. And now you have to live with that."

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, _Remy's inner voice repeated over and over again.

"I can't believe this." Remy whispered, so quietly that she was sure only she could hear it. "I—I failed?"

"I hope this will serve as a lesson to you, Roulette. There _is _a reason that you're on the _Young _Justice team. You do _not_ know everything and it would do you some good if you remember that from now on."

_Failed. _

Remy heard Batman's words in echoing in her mind, reaffirming her inner monologue. Remy couldn't remember the last time she had _failed_. Failure wasn't even in her vocabulary.

Hot tears of embarrassment started to make their way down Remy's face.

"Bats, I think you're being a little har—" Red Arrow's voice, unusually kind, cut through her haze of thoughts.

"This doesn't concern you, Red Arrow," Batman said firmly as he sat there, watching Remy. "You should have plenty of time to mull these things over during your suspension."

_Failed._

Remy got up abruptly, unable to take Batman's stoic expression. He was mocking her and she knew it. She hurried to the back of the plane and locked the restroom door behind her.

Remy had never felt so ashamed.

* * *

Batman insisted that they stop off at Mount Justice before returning to Star City. So that Remy could clear out her locker and so that Batman could change her active status in the computer at the Mountain.

Remy was convinced it was so that he could humiliate her in front of the team. It was right around five pm when they arrived—right when the team would be finishing up their first hour of training. They were probably on snack break right now.

"_Recognized: Batman 02, Red Arrow B06, Roulette B08,_" the computer rang out, announcing their arrival to _the entire mountain._

Within seconds, Wally had appeared at Remy's side.

"_He-ey_ Remy," he grinned, throwing an arm around Remy's shoulders, "and company."

Remy pushed him away and ignored his curious stare as she stormed off towards the girl's locker room.

"What's with _her_?" Wally asked, his voice confused.

Glancing behind her, she watched as Batman slipped off with a simple, "I'll explain what's going on in the mission briefing later."

"What's with _him_?" Wally asked.

Red Arrow caught Remy's eye as Wally repeated his question as to what was going on. Remy turned around and pushed the locker room door open, knowing that Wally wouldn't dare to follow her.

Remy simply couldn't believe the events of the last twelve hours. There was _no _possible way it could get any worse.

_Of all the things…_ Remy couldn't believe she'd actually _cried_. In front of Batman, no less. And the world's biggest jackass, Red Arrow.

Crying was a sign of weakness, and Remy had _never _allowed herself to be weak. She, frankly, couldn't even remember the last time that she had cried. She certainly couldn't remember the last time she had failed at something that wasn't completely trivial like chemistry.

She fingered the handle on her locker door and glanced at the plaque engraved with '_Roulette' _on it. She yanked the door open and pulled out her gym duffle, beginning the laborious task of putting all of her things away.

For once in her life, Remy had been wrong.

_So _wrong and _so stupid._ How could she have thought that she could play both sides of the field and walk out unscathed? Only an idiot would think that she could play both the Justice League and the League of Shadows.

Now, as Batman had said, she was going to have to pay the price.

The Shadows would be mad, that was for sure. They might excommunicate her. Maybe even kill her. And Artemis would be left alone to deal with being a double agent.

And of course, getting suspended from the team for an indefinite amount of time would definitely free up her schedule.

Of course there was always Black Canary.

Remy sighed as she slammed her locker and zipped her bag shut.

Not even Black Canary would want to help her now, after the way Remy had treated her.

Of course, what was she supposed to do? The only person Remy had ever needed had been Remy, and now that wasn't necessarily true.

The team had accepted her without question. And Remy had almost begun to feel a… fondness... for them. Remy Vanderbilt, a cold-hearted bitch, had actually begun to get used to the idea of her teammates as friends, maybe even equals.

Sure Miss Martian was extremely annoying, but the only crime Megan was guilty of was being _too _nice. And yet, Remy had ignored the Martian's constant attempts at friendship.

Conner hadn't crossed Remy, and normally, that would have been a fine standard for friendship. Yet Remy _still _thought of him as some mindless brute that was only good for smashing things.

Kaldur had been nothing but kind to her, had consistently invited Remy to team gatherings, and offered to show her around Happy Harbor when she'd first arrived. Yet, she blatantly ignored Kaldur outside of missions.

And Wally was, well, Wally, and that was explanation enough. Sure he talked incessantly, told bad jokes, and hit on _way _too many girls, but he was nice. And funny. Remy actually thought he was funny. He'd even helped her understand Chemistry, a subject she had largely given up on.

Then there was Robin, who if Remy was being honest, was a much better fighter than she was. Remy might be able to kill more effectively, but Robin was _groomed _for the Justice League. He could strike without killing or maiming someone to excessively. Robin had even offered to train with Remy since that day he'd kicked her ass during her evaluation. And yet, Remy scoffed at him.

And with Artemis, she and Remy had gone through hell together and come out alive. They were trapped by their own circumstances, but at least they could say they had each other. Artemis may have been a lot of things, including extremely rude and standoffish—no different than Remy herself—but she understood Remy. And even though Remy had started to treat the blonde archer as she would a real friend, she knew that it was nowhere near what Artemis deserved.

None of them deserved the way she had treated them.

And now, Remy would have no one but herself thanks to Batman.

_Just the way I like it, _Remy thought sardonically as she exited the locker room.

* * *

When Remy exited the locker room, bag in hand, head hung low, she was surprised to find the team waiting for her. Red Arrow stood to the side of the group, carefully watching her for a reaction.

She forced her face to assume its normal expression.

"_Dude,_" Robin whistled. "What did you do to make Batman so angry? He stormed into the control room like—I don't even know!"

Wally nodded, his eyes zooming in on her bag. "Why do you have your stuff?"

Remy shook her head. "I'm suspended from the team, indefinitely."

"_What?_" Artemis stepped forward.

"You heard me."

"But why?" Miss Martian asked.

"Batman will explain," Remy shrugged. She nodded to Red Arrow. "Can you take me home, Red?"

"Yeah," he nodded, beckoning her over. "Let's just go."

Wally stepped out in front of Remy holding his hands up. "You can't go until you tell us what's going on."

Remy ignored him, sidestepping him only to be stopped by Wally again. "Look it doesn't matter what I have to say. I'm suspended, end of story."

"We would like to hear _your _side of the story," Aqualad interjected.

"Guys seriously," Remy snapped. "I just _need _to get out of here. I'll see you when my suspension is up."

"You owe us an explanation," Conner added, folding his arms.

"I don't want to talk about it!" She snapped, her voice sounding slightly hysterical. Taking a deep breath, she tried that again, "I'm sorry, but I just want to go—"

Remy cut off as her cell phone trilled from inside her gym bag. The screen read: _Jasmine Springs Wellness Center_. "I have to take this," she told the team, flipping open her phone as she turned away. "Hello?"

"_R-remy, its Grace, your mother's nurse," _a choked sob accompanied the nurse's greeting. "_There's been a—an accident."_

Remy's body stiffened. "What kind of accident? Is my mom okay?"

"_S-she's not,_" Nurse Grace admitted. "_Remy, honey, your mother was in a horrible accident and she—she didn't make it. We need you to get to Gotham as soon as possible the police department would like to—"_

Remy didn't even feel the phone slip from her hand. She couldn't hear the worried inquiries of her teammates. She _barely_ registered the sudden appearance of Batman in the room.

Her mother was dead?


	26. Lacey Vanderbilt

Author's Note: Thanks for all the positive responses to all that angst in the last chapter. Remy isn't a very emotional character so it might have seemed OOC of her, but I think she's earned herself a good cry. Lord knows I'd be balling my eyes out haha. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Six: Lacey Vanderbilt

* * *

_"Just one more minute, Mom! Dad's on the TV!" Ten year old Remington Vanderbilt, clad in her karate robes, cried from her spot on the floor._

_ Lacey Vanderbilt smiled at her young daughter from the couch and set the remote down. Her father, Captain of the fire station at 48__th__ and Clinton in Gotham City, smiled onscreen as a reporter interviewed him._

_ "It took us awhile to get the flames under control enough so that we could enter the building," he was saying a smile on his face. "But we managed to get the family out safe and sound. Those folks are going to be just fine and we'll be getting to work right away on cleaning up the debris."_

_ The reporter nodded, switching the microphone back to herself as she looked at the camera. "Well you heard it straight from Fire Chief John Vanderbilt himself. The fire at the Met Apartments has been contained and the injured family is going to be okay. This has been Kiki Sanders, reporting for Gotham News in the afternoon."_

_ Remy looked up at her mother. "Does this mean Dad's coming home tonight?"_

_ Lacey shook her head and Remy's shoulders drooped as she stood up. "Sorry babe, he's working until Friday."_

_ "But it's Wednesday!" Remy cried indignantly._

_ Lacey chuckled. "Yes it is. Which means it's time for karate class."_

_ Remy seemed to brighten at this momentarily until her mother stood up to grab the car keys from the oak coffee table. "But _Mom,_ Dad always takes me!"_

_ Lacey sighed, pushing her daughter towards the door. "Your father will be able to take you on Saturday, okay?" _

_Remy sighed heavily, her small shoulders drooping once more as the pair made their way to the family SUV. Lacey opened up and slid into the driver's seat, waiting until Remy was buckled in before she started the engine._

_Looking over her shoulder, Lacey backed out of the driveway, noting her daughter's still distraught expression. She shook her head. Remy had such a strong connection to her father._

God forbid something happens to him_, she thought worriedly._

"_Why don't you turn that frown upside down, kiddo?" Lacey smiled._

"_I don't want to go anymore. I want Dad to take me," she huffed._

_Lacey laughed quietly. "I know I'm not your first choice, but how about I make you a deal?"_

_Remy narrowed her eyes. "What sort of a deal? I'm ten now which means I know what's what."_

_Lacey nodded, laughing inside. "You're right. I can't dupe you anymore with promises of a new Barbie."_

"_I never played with Barbies!" Remy protested. "Not since I was five!"_

_Lacey ignored the Barbie comment. _

"_How about you put a smile on that pretty face of yours and have fun at karate and then after we can get some ice cream and go visit Dad at the station tomorrow."_

_Remy seemed to think about this for a moment. "I want a triple scooper."_

"_One scoop only, you know the rules."_

"_Fine," Remy huffed, "but I want sprinkles."_

* * *

Remy crossed the police lines at the Jasmine Springs Wellness Center and entered into the building, the team—clad in their civvies—at her back. The faces in the hallway blurred past her until a hand shot out to stop her.

* * *

_John Vanderbilt smiled as he watched his wife and his seven year old daughter play at the park together. _

_He'd come home from work to find a note on the fridge explaining they'd gone to the park and that they'd be back soon. Unable to be separated from his family any longer, he walked down the street to the park—the only park—that Remy liked to play at._

_He watched from afar for a few minutes, watching as Remy showed off her acrobatic skills on the monkey bars while Lacey clapped and cheered enthusiastically._

_Smile still firmly planted on his face, John walked up behind his wife and slid his arms around her waist. With a startled yelp, she turned around to get a glance of who was holding onto her._

"_Oh—John! You scared me," she put a hand to her chest and laughed lightly._

"_Good thing you're—"_

"_Daddy!" Remy yelled, slipping off the monkey bars. She ran towards her father at full speed and flung her arms around him._

"_Hey, kiddo," he grinned, ruffling her hair affectionately. "How's it hanging?" He looked pointedly at the monkey bars._

_Remy giggled and glanced back at the monkey bars. "I get it. Hanging. Good one Dad." The young girl then turned her attention towards her mother, a frustrated expression on her face. "Why didn't you tell me Daddy was coming to the park with us?"_

_Lacey held up her hands. "Nobody clued me in. Why don't you show Daddy what you've been practicing on the monkey bars?"_

"_You need to see this," Remy said firmly, her childlike face completely serious. "It's my best tricks all put into one."_

"_I'm watching," John assured her, sliding his arm around his wife's waist. She smiled as he pulled her close to his side and together they watched as Remy jumped up to grab the monkey bars._

_She swung her legs through the adjacent bar and ended up sitting on top of the monkey bars. "You're watching right?"_

"_Of course!" John laughed. "Show us what you got!"_

_Remy proceeded to start her routine—the one she had been practicing since they'd got to the park—happily swinging and flipping through the bars._

_Lacey smiled happily. "She's happy to see you."_

_John grinned. "I hope somebody else is as well."_

_Lacey squeezed his hand. "Of course."_

_The pair watched in silence as their daughter swung and played on the jungle gym, each of her acrobatic feats more spectacular than the last._

"_She really _is _something," John muttered. _

"_Of course she is. She's our daughter."_

_John laughed. "But she's different than all the other children, Lace, I can tell. Despite what she thinks, she's not going to end up a lowly firefighter like me. She'll do more than that, I can feel it."_

"_Thank God she takes after you in the athletic department," Lacey laughed. _

_The couple fell silent and watched as Remy slipped off the monkey bars, failing to complete her planned sequence. She fell to the ground with a grumble and met her parents' eyes as she dusted herself up._

"_I'm ready to leave," she proclaimed, walking past her parents to the street that lead back to their neighborhood._

"_Well alrighty then," Lacey said, watching as Remy walked off without then. _

"_So independent," John muttered as they followed after her. "I think she gets it from you."_

_Lacey nodded. "I just hope it doesn't bite her in the ass someday."_

* * *

Wally's hand was on her arm. Remy stopped and stared down at his hand, then back up at the hallway. They were just a hundred feet away from her mom's room and the amount of crime scene investigators and detectives were increasing.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea," Wally said gently.

"The body's been cleared out," Remy informed him, struggling to keep her voice even. She couldn't break down here, in front of all these people.

She needed to focus.

* * *

_Remy Vanderbilt was thirteen years old and now officially a teenager. With that came angst, hormones, and above all, a major attitude. _

_Her mother was the first to experience it._

"_Remington you're—"_

"_My _name_ is Remy," the young brunette snapped at her mother. "And why can't I hang out with _my _friends on _my _birthday?"_

_Lacey Vanderbilt sighed. "Because, as your mother, I'm telling you that the friends you _now _want to spend your time with aren't part of a good crowd."_

"_If I had asked Dad, he would have said yes."_

"_Well you're talking to _me _right now," Lacey said firmly. "So you can deal with that."_

_Remy rolled her eyes and looked away._

"_Why don't you give Jessica a call and invite her for dinner and a movie?"_

_Remy scoffed. "Jessica and I aren't speaking anymore. She told Bobby Hendricks that I have a crush on him."_

"_Have you thought about calling her to work it out?" Lacey asked._

"_There's nothing to work out," Remy sniffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "She betrayed me and I'm not giving her a second chance."_

_Lacey raised an eyebrow. "So just like that, she's out of your life?"_

"_Yes."_

"_It's that simple?" Lacey clarified._

"_It is," Remy confirmed with a curt nod. "I don't need extraneous friendships that, in the end, will get me nowhere. And it's _my _birthday, I can do what I want."_

_Lacey drew in a short breath, secretly wondering when her daughter had expanded her vocabulary with a word like extraneous. It had seemed like just yesterday when Remy was learning the ABC's. "That doesn't include back talking your mother."_

_Remy stayed silent, staring back at her mom with defiant eyes._

_Lacey sighed, getting up from her seat at the dining room table. "One day, Remy, you'll learn that you can't just throw people out of your life like a piece of trash. People don't just go disappear."_

_Lacey leaned her elbows on the dining room chair. "Why don't you give Jess a call? I'm sure she'd love to talk to you."_

"_I'm sure she would," Remy spat out coldly, feeling oddly powerful as a look of disappointment flitted across her mother's pretty features._

_Remy Vanderbilt was officially a teenager._

* * *

Remy walked ahead of her teammates, wondering why on earth they had decided to come along.

Her mother was dead. End of story.

Dead, dead, and dead.

And despite what her mother had always told her, people _did _just disappear. Her mother had literally just been taken from this world.

There was no changing it.

But why did her teammates still hover beside her, glancing over at her every few seconds as if she might keel over?

Remy liked to think that it was because they cared.

But, in all honesty, her mother hadn't been her _mom_ since she'd been admitted to the mental hospital. For god sake's, she couldn't even remember her own daughter's name.

Still, as Remy approached her mother's room, she wished that she would've come to visit her more often. Just like she wished she could have said something else entirely the last time she saw her Dad alive. Something meaningful.

* * *

"_So that's it?" Fifteen year old Remy grinned. "I can go to the concert?"_

"_If you promise not to talk to anyone strange or do anything reckless, then yes, you can go," John Vanderbilt told her. _

"_I promise," Remy held up her right hand._

_ Her Dad smiled slightly. "Good. Then what time should I expect you home?"_

_ "Lauren's Dad said we should be home by one at the latest," Remy informed him._

_ John nodded. "That's fine. As long as you don't tell your mother I let you stay out too late."_

_ "Dad," Remy groaned, "she's in Chicago, there's no way she's finding out."_

_ John snorted and stood up, ruffling his daughter's hair like he used to when she was younger. "Alright, alright, now if I'm correct, Mr. Sidney is waiting out front for you. Have fun, cool cat."_

_ Remy smiled at her Dad and hurried towards the door. "Thanks Dad. Catch you on the flip side."_

* * *

_ Catch you on the flip side. _She'd said that to her father on the day that he died. It was the last thing she'd ever said to him, in fact. The day a terrible fire had started in their home and he had been trapped under a fallen beam. It was ironic really, a _fire_fighter killed in a fire in his _own_ house.

And the last thing she'd said to him were _catch you on the flip side?_ That was worse than her saying she hated him, at least _that _implied an actual feeling behind the words. _Catch you on the flip side_ was something she said to everyone.

Remy couldn't even _remember_ the last words she said to her mother.

It didn't matter anyhow; her mother had been completely catatonic for the last two years.

"Remy Vanderbilt?"

Remy focused in on the detective that was calling out to her. "That's me."

"I'm Detective Conners," a short, stout man introduced himself. "First of all, I am _very _sorry for your loss."

"Thanks," Remy answered automatically.

"But I _do _have some questions I need answered," he said awkwardly, "about your mother."

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" Artemis barked from beside her.

"Of course I understand this is a difficult time—"

"Its fine," Remy assured him. "I have some questions of my own, in fact."

Conners nodded. "I'm going to need you to step in here and take a look at your mother's room. There are some things we need clarification on."


	27. Who We Are

Author's Note: Here we goo. Oh and by the way, next week Young Justice returns next week! How excited is everyone? :D Anyways, the basis of part two of this story is being introduced, so make sure you pay attention :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Who We Are

* * *

Detective Conners held the crime scene tape up for Remy and allowed her to step through first.

She glanced briefly around her mother's room, trying to ignore the fact that her teammates were burning holes in the back of her head.

"Could you guys wait outside?" she asked, unable to focus with so many eyes on her. "Except Artemis. She can stay."

Artemis raised an eyebrow but made a move to enter her mother's room. Detective Conners stopped her.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't, miss," he told her.

"I'd prefer if she _did,_" Remy said, nodding to him. Conners shrugged and held up the tape so that Artemis could step through.

"Remy, we—" M'gann started.

"Please," Remy said quietly, cutting her off. "Just go outside."

The rest of her teammates pegged her with looks of confusion, before obliging. Remy sighed, glad that they were gone.

Focusing back in on the room, Remy immediately noticed the obvious disarray. Her mother's room had held few things, but the small number of knick knacks and photo frames that _had_ adorned the shelves and desktop had been thrown about the room.

Remy searched the room for the chalk outline of where her mother's body had been, but it was noticeably absent. Instead, Remy noticed the draperies were tied in some sort of a noose.

"My mother hung herself?" Remy asked thickly. Beside her, Artemis shifted awkwardly.

"Essentially, yes," Conners said. "Nurse Kelly found her like this when she came to check up on your mother before bed. There were also numerous lacerations to her arms and legs—Miss Vanderbilt, are you certain you want to hear all this? It can't be easy—"

"I'd like to know," Remy told him curtly.

Conners nodded. "We've already established the lacerations were made by a kitchen knife. We were in the process of removing the draperies when HQ called to tell me you were coming down. I had the room cleared for that."

Remy mulled this over, forcing her mind to think of her mother as just another stranger. She _had _to, in order to get to the bottom of this.

"My mother couldn't have hung herself, Detective," Remy told him. "Or cut herself for that matter. She was catatonic. She could barely feed herself."

Detective Conners nodded. "We're aware. We've sent the body to the labs already for DNA testing and a toxicology report."

Remy placed her hands in the pockets of her jacket and looked around the room thoughtfully. "Could someone have drugged my mother and staged it to look like a suicide?"

Remy considered her own words for a moment. Had the Shadows done this to punish her for pulling that stunt with Cheshire? It didn't seem like one of their jobs. Had the Shadows been behind this, Remy was certain that her mother would have just disappeared off the face of the earth. There would have been no cops, no ambulances, nothing. Certainly no bravado.

"Would someone have reason to do that?" Detective Conners asked carefully.

"Are you asking me if my mother had any enemies?" Remy asked. "The answer is no. My mother hasn't even had any visitors since she's been in here."

"That's not entirely true, Miss Vanderbilt," Conners offered. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a notepad. "According to the asylum's records your mother had been receiving visits regularly from a Mr. Erik van der Rhys. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"No," Remy thought puzzled. Her mother's nurse hadn't mentioned any visitors, even when Remy had asked.

"Our background checks revealed nothing out of the ordinary," Conners shrugged. "No criminal record, no ties to anything unsavory. He lives in Denmark, however, so we couldn't bring him here even if we wanted to question him."

Remy filed this information away for later. "Well, if he doesn't have a criminal record then chances are he has nothing to do with this," she sighed, disappointed.

_Stay focused Remy,_ she told herself. "Is there anything else I should know? Any leads?"

"Not at this moment," Detective Conners informed her.

"When will the testing be done?" Remy asked. "I should probably start making funeral arrangements…"

"We should have the results back within the week. Once that's finished, the remains will be released to you."

"Then I think I'm finished here," Remy said, mentally saying goodbye to this room forever. She hadn't liked it in the first place, but under these circumstances she certainly wasn't wanting to say goodbye.

"We'll be sure to keep you notified if anything changes," Conners told her. He pulled out his card and handed it to Remy. "Call me if you have you any questions."

Remy nodded, casting a cursory glance over the room once more, when something on the desk caught her eye. A copy of _The Once and Future King_ by T.H. White. Remy was certain that hadn't been there before. Her mother hadn't owned any books.

Remy walked over to the desk and pointed to the book. She bit her lip and glanced at Detective Conners. "If it isn't too much trouble, this book was one of my mother's favorites…"

"It's technically illegal," Conners started, "but I'm not much of a stickler. If it has sentimental value—"

"It does," Remy assured him.

"—then feel free to take it."

Remy thanked him, grabbing the book off of the table. She caught Artemis' eye and started for the door. "We should get going. I have a lot to think about."

* * *

Once outside, Artemis stopped Remy before they reached the large van the team had taken to get to the asylum.

"Look, if you need a place to stay while the cops work things out, you're more than welcome to stay with my mom and I. We've got a dumpy apartment in the Narrows but—"

"That would be fine," Remy said curtly. "Thanks."

Artemis seemed surprised that she had accepted, but said nothing as they reached the rest of the team.

"What did they say, if you do not mind my curiosity?" Kaldur asked, holding open the van door for Remy and Artemis. Everyone else was already piled in the seats of the van.

"My mother was murdered and someone tried to make it looked like suicide," Remy informed them, climbing into the last row of seats, Artemis behind her.

"That's awful!" Miss Martian exclaimed over the sound of Kaldur shutting the van door. He walked to the other side of the van and slid into the driver's seat, though he didn't start the van. "I am so sorry, Remy, really."

"Thanks for the thought," Remy said, absently running her hands over the cover of the book in her hands. She flipped open the cover, aware that Artemis and the team were waiting for her to say something more. "Are we leaving?"

Robin guffawed and shared a disbelieving look with Wally behind his sunglasses. Kaldur sighed and started the car, looking over his shoulder as he backed out.

"What?" Remy asked, looking up. "Oh, it'd be great if you could drop me at Artemis'. I have some business in Gotham."

Remy looked down at the inside of the cover and scanned the writing on the page. Sets of numbers—looking like a set of locker combinations, really—started at the top and went down to about the halfway mark of the page.

_Definitely a code for something, _Remy thought, discreetly showing the page to Artemis. Artemis' eyes lit up in understanding.

Conner spoke up, tearing Remy's gaze away from the page. "Your mom is dead."

"Very observant, Conner," Remy muttered dryly.

"Why aren't you crying?" he asked.

Remy sighed and leaned her head against the window, ignoring the now awkward atmosphere in the car. She honestly didn't feel like talking about it, crying about it, or anything really. She just wanted peace. And to be able to find out who did tis.

There would be time for crying later. Preferably when she was alone and there was no one within a two mile radius that knew her. She had already broken down in front of _Red Arrow _and _Batman_ of all people.

"He's right. You're being awfully cavalier about this," Wally commented, breaking the silence.

"Shut it, Wall-man," Artemis barked.

"Its fine, Artemis," Remy said flatly. To Wally she asked, "Would you prefer it if I broke down sobbing?"

"Well I—uh—not exactly—you see—" Wally fumbled for something to say.

"I just need time," Remy said quietly. "If you all could respect that, then I would appreciate it."

Unspoken agreement rippled through the team and they all were silent as Kaldur drove them to the Gotham Narrows.

* * *

_Finally._ Remy breathed a sigh of relief as Kaldur pulled up in front of Artemis' apartment complex.

"Please, Remy, once you have finished your business here in Gotham," Kaldur said, "return to Mount Justice."

"I'll call you guys," Remy lied, proceeding to exit the van, her bags from Mount Justice in hand.

She and Artemis started towards the front door of the complex, quickly making their way up the steps. Artemis reached for a key in her pocket and unlocked the door as Wally called out to them to wait.

Remy turned and watched as Wally gestured for Kaldur to go ahead and get back to Mount Justice.

"I'll just run and meet you guys," he said before Kaldur sped off.

"Go home, Wally," Artemis snapped.

Wally shook his head, and Remy was immediately struck by his grim expression. He was normally so cheerful, but ever since Remy had delivered the news about her mother, he had been deadly serious. "I need to talk to Remy."

"Wally just—"

"Its fine Artemis," Remy waved her off, wondering at what Wally had to say. "If you don't mind waiting for me inside…"

"Fine," Artemis groaned. "I'll just ask mom to order some takeout." With that, the blonde archer disappeared into the building, allowing the door to close behind her.

Remy turned to Wally and folded her arms. He stared at her but didn't say anything.

"Well?" Remy asked.

"Right," Wally said. He walked over to her and steered her over to the steps. "I just—are you okay?"

"I really do hate the question. I am doing _fine_," Remy answered.

Wally rolled his eyes. "Look, I know people have different methods of coping with loss—"

Remy sighed. She knew where this was going.

"—but you're like a freaking robot! _All _the time! And it's not _normal_," Wally said, frustrated. "You're not snapping at me or anyone else, you're actually sort of _nice _and it's—"

Remy held up a hand to stop him. "Look Wally, I appreciate the concern—"

Wally pointed at her. "See that's what I mean! The Remy I know would _never _say something like that."

Remy mentally sighed.

She was definitely upset about her mother's passing, but she couldn't allow herself to become emotional. The police were obviously never going to solve her mother's murder, so it was up to Remy to do it. If she got emotional over this, she'd just screw it up. For now, her feelings about her mother would have to be pushed to the back of her mind.

Remy scowled at him. "I may be a massive bitch, but I'm not unreasonable Wally. The last of my family is now dead and frankly, I don't have the energy to be a hard person right now."

Wally looked away, seeming a bit ashamed. "I don't think you're a bitch. I mean sometimes you are, yeah, but maybe you're—I don't know—a turtle that needs to come out of its shell of something."

Remy snorted, the first happy sound that had emanated from her since finding out that her mother was dead. She patted him on the shoulder and got to her feet. "You flatter me."

Wally chuckled, getting to his feet as well. "I guess what I'm trying to say is—I think you're pretty cool. Even if you are a shelled turtle."

"A shelled turtle, huh?" Remy raised an eyebrow. Wally merely shrugged. "I'm going to be fine, Wally, trust me. I've dealt with this sort of thing before."

Wally looked disbelieving but did not respond. Instead he reached forward and enveloped Remy in a big bear hug.

Remy stiffened, but didn't push him away. Awkwardly, she patted him on the back, unused to such familiar contact.

"I uh—" Wally broke off, the tips of his ears starting to redden. "My Aunt always says the best cure for a bad day is a hug from someone who cares."

_Someone who cares?_ Remy thought. That's _a new one._

"Right," Remy said. "Well you should probably get going. I'm sort of tired and—"

"Right. Yeah. Of course," Wally said quickly, obviously embarrassed. "I'll see you later. Okay, bye."

And before Remy could even utter a goodbye, Wally was gone.

* * *

Remy hadn't even taken her shoes off, before Artemis grabbed her by the arm and towed her into the kitchen.

"Mom, this is Remy," she said, gesturing to each of the women. "Remy, meet my mom."

Remy stared at Artemis' mom, immediately struck by the fact that the woman was in a wheelchair. Not to mention that she and Artemis looked _nothing _alike, save for the almond shaped eyes common among Asian women.

Remy was pretty sure Artemis was ninety nine percent Baby Sportsmaster in the looks department.

Still Artemis' mom smiled at her sweetly and wheeled over to shake Remy's hand. "Paula Crock. It's nice to finally meet you Remy."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of me?"

"_Mom!_"

"Oh yes," Paula snickered, wheeling back to the kitchen counter. "Artemis used to complain about you all the time."

"Did she now?" Remy asked, unsurprised.

"Oh yes," Paula laughed. "In fact she even went so far—"

"_Mom_," Artemis said pointedly. "Remy is really not _in the mood_ for your stories. She's had a pretty long day."

Mrs. Crock sobered up immediately. "Of course—how rude of me—I am truly sorry for your loss. You are welcome to stay with us as long as you want."

"Thanks," Remy answered automatically.

"I hope Vietnamese food is alright with you. Dinner should be here in about ten minutes," Paula told her gently. "Artemis, why don't you two go get set up in your room. There are extra blankets in the hall closet."

Remy nodded, pointing to the book still in hand. Artemis nodded and the two set off down the hall towards the closet.

"We'll look at it when my mom's asleep," Artemis said, her voice low, as she grabbed a few comforters out of the closet. "She knows about my…extra-curricular activities. But I'd rather not involve her. She's already got enough to worry about."

* * *

Later that night, after Mrs. Crock had gone to sleep, Remy and Artemis lay on the floor of the blonde archer's room, the copy of _The Once and Future King _between them. Artemis' lights were on a timer, so they were forced to use a flashlight to see.

"Do you think the Shadows had anything to do with this?" Artemis asked in a whisper. "You know, cut you off from everyone so that there's nothing standing in the way of your loyalty?"

"You heard what Detective Conners said about my mom's body," Remy replied. "This job was either very sloppy or meant to grab my attention; the Shadows would do neither. Although when _they_ get their hands on me—"

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.

"Right. You still don't know." Remy blew out a sigh. "This is also sort of the reason I was kicked off the team."

"I thought you were just suspended."

"I may as well be off the team," Remy said glumly. "Anyways, I sort of teamed up with Red Arrow to free Prince Ferdinand."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "After Batman specifically _said_—"

"Just let me finish," Remy huffed. "I set it up so that Cheshire would think that I made Red Arrow think that we were freeing the Prince based on some debt _she _owed me. She thought that my plan was to double cross Red Arrow _and _leave the Prince in her hands.

"Of course, Arrow _knew _all of this and after he was incarcerated I freed the Prince and blew up the complex to free Arrow. Does that make any sense to you?"

"Vaguely," Artemis muttered. "Continue."

"Well, as luck would have it, our fearless leader the Batman showed up," Remy shrugged. "To say he was ticked would be a serious understatement."

"He's probably just mad you got to the Prince first," Artemis snorted.

"Definitely not," Remy shook her head. "I didn't even think about the repercussions of what I'd done. I never notified the Shadows of my, well, triple cross, and even if I had they would have never gone for it. It was my mistake, and a stupid one at that."

Artemis let out a low whistle. "Okay. I see where you're coming from now. The Shadows _don't _give second chances."

"Exactly," Remy said. "Which is why, when my mom's nurse called, I automatically assumed that the Shadows were punishing me for it. But not even _they_ move that quickly."

Artemis nodded, in silent agreement with Remy. She grabbed the book and opened it to the first page. "And you think that whoever _did_ do this left you a calling card? That doesn't make any sense."

"Which is why _I_ think these people _want _me to find them. For some twisted reason. Maybe they want me to know that they're after me. Maybe _I _am the target."

"That's the only angle I could see," Artemis agreed. "And these numbers are obviously code for words in the book."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Remy told her. "Do you have pen and paper? We need to work this out."

Artemis stood and shuffled over to her desk, taking out a yellow legal pad and a fountain pen. Lying back down on the floor, she slid _The Once and Future King _back to Remy before poising her pen over the paper.

"I'll take down the words," Artemis said.

"Before we start…" Remy shifted a bit in her spot. "I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Artemis asked.

"Whatever message these people have left for me… Don't tell anyone. This stays between us?"

"Of course," Artemis answered.

Remy nodded and turned her eyes to the page with the codes, steeling herself mentally for whatever was spelled out in these pages. "First word: Page 146, line 7, word 3. _You._"

"_You_," Artemis repeated jotting it down.

"Second word: Page 337, line 14, word 6. _Are._"

"_Are._"

"Third word: Page 12, line 2, word 3. _Alone._"

Remy glanced up as Artemis copied this down. "Seriously?"

"Props for obviousness?" Artemis snorted.

"Whatever," Remy shook her head, laughing harshly. "Continuing on… Word four: Page 56, Line 18, word 7. _Now._"

"_Now."_

"Word five: Page—"

"Oh just skip the numbers," Artemis groaned. "_I _certainly don't need them."

"Fine," Remy said. "Fifth word is _you._"

"_You."_

"Sixth word is _are._"

"_Are."_

"Next word is _chosen._"

"Got it," Artemis nodded. "That it?"

"No there's a few more," Remy told her, growing more confused by the minute.

"Next word is _the._"

"_The."_

"_Game._"

"_Game," _Artemis repeated.

"Next is _begins_."

"Mhmm," Artemis muttered.

"Then it's _now._"

"'The game begins now?'" Artemis repeated. She read the entirety of it aloud again. "'You are alone. Now you are chosen. The game begins now.'"

"That's not it," Remy snapped. "There's three more."

Quickly she flipped through the last three codes and strung together the final sentence. "_We are Occulta._"

The blonde archer scribbled the last part down and handed Remy the slip of paper. The two shared a confused look as they read the paper over once more.

_You are alone._

_Now you are chosen._

_The game begins now._

_We are Occulta._


	28. Home is Where Your Heart Is

Author's Note: Neeeext chapter! Sorry for the wait, I've just been assigned a ridiculous research essay and my English teacher is completely demented. Not to sound like Remy here, but I honestly feel smarter than her haha. Anyways, to make up for the wait I made this one a bit longer. And wow guys, almost two hundred reviews! That's seriously so amazing. Thank you so much for all of your support :) Just a few more chapters to go before the sequel!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Eight: Home is Where Your Heart Is

* * *

_You are alone._

_Now you are chosen._

_The game begins now._

_We are Occulta._

"I wasn't expecting this," Remy admitted aloud. "This is cryptic _and _entirely too noticeable to be the work of the League of Shadows."

Artemis nodded, placing her elbow under her neck. "What could 'the game' be?"

Remy stared at her flatly. "I won't know until they send me something else. A message or instructions." The brunette rolled over onto her back. "Until then, I'm going to have to drop off the radar. The Shadows are going to be looking for me."

"I'm surprised they haven't tried to contact you or—"

"Kill me?" Remy asked, running a hand through her hair

Artemis sighed. "What about your mom?"

"I'll have her buried next to my father," Remy said. "I'll stop by my old church tomorrow and make the arrangements."

Artemis nodded and the two fell into a thoughtful silence.

Remy wasn't sure what Artemis was thinking, but her own thoughts were full of turmoil. She was pretty sure this was one of the worst days in her life, hands down. Kicked off the only team she'd ever been a part of, completely burned an un-burnable bridge—unless you wanted to die of course—with the Shadows, and she'd lost her mother. Not to mention the fact that the reason her mother was dead was because these _Occulta _people wanted something from her.

The only positive that Remy could see was the fact that she'd managed to rescue the Prince of Monaco. And that had been the _start _of all this misfortune!

"Remy?" Artemis broke her train of thought. "I really think that you should take this to Batman. He might reconsider your susp—"

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Remy sighed, rolling her eyes. "This is something I need to deal with myself, Artemis."

"You say that about everything," she snapped. "You handle _everything_ on your own."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Remy sniffed.

Artemis huffed. "Look, I of all people know where you're coming from. It's how I was raised. But you are _way_ in over your head with this. The Shadows are going to be gunning for you and so will these Occulta people."

Remy could see the obvious stupidity in taking all of this on alone. Perhaps, it was time for her to give up the charade. For a charade it was. Since joining the team, Remy had allowed herself to actually care about something. She'd made her first _real_ friend in years and found a way to fit in with the do-gooders she had only dreamed of associating with.

Maybe Remy did need help.

Remy relented, her mouth forming a small smirk. "Then it's a good thing I've got a team to help me out."

* * *

Father Lawrence was unusually quiet as Remy explained what had happened to her mother. By the time she had finished her tale, she was sure that Father Lawrence was expecting her to burst into tears at any moment.

_The apocalypse would sooner come,_ Remy thought blackly.

"As soon as the police turn over the body, I want it encased and put next to my father's in the crypt," Remy said. "I should be back in Star City tomorrow so I won't be able to—"

"No funeral?" Father Lawrence's eyebrows practically shot up into his hair.

"My mother didn't have any friends Father Lawrence," Remy said slowly. "There would be no point."

The elder man shook his head and sighed, leaning back in his office chair. "Remington, it pains me to see you like this. Wouldn't _you _at least like to say goodbye to your mother?"

_Here we go_.

"I said goodbye to my mom when they put her in an asylum," Remy held up her hands. "She hasn't _really_ been my mother for quite some time."

Father Lawrence laced his fingers together and placed them on the desk in front of him. Remy remembered that he had always done this before beginning some long-winded lecture on spirituality.

"I'm surprised at you Remy," he admitted. "I had thought that even though you no longer attend church or actively worship our Lord, you would still show _some _level of respect for the dead."

"I'm not disrespecting the dead simply because I don't want a funeral," Remy said flatly.

"Your father had a lovely turnout when he—"

"My father was a local hero and my mother insisted."

"Remy, I understand that you are upset about your mother, anyone in your position would be, but _I _must be the one to insist this time. Your mother would have wanted you to be there when we commend her spirit to the Lord."

"Father Lawrence," Remy started, struggling to keep her voice civil. "I am trying to be as pleasant about this as I possibly can. But after all that has gone on I feel like _I_ deserve some peace."

Father Lawrence nodded. "I couldn't agree more. But think of what your mother would've wanted."

"It doesn't matter what she wants," Remy sputtered. "She is _dead._ Dead as can be. Kicked the bucket, the fat lady sang, whatever you want to use. It doesn't make a difference anymore."

Father Lawrence looked appalled at her outburst and even Remy was a bit surprised at herself.

"While your mother is no longer on this earth, she is still alive in spirit," Father Lawrence said fervently. "Lacey was a wonderful person, and a devout follower of Christ. I have no doubt that she is with our Heavenly Father now."

Remy shook her head and stood up. "My decision is final, Father. I'm returning to Star City tomorrow morning and there will be no funeral."

Remy slid her arms into her winter coat and turned for the door.

"Remington."

Remy turned out of courtesy and stared expectantly at Father Lawrence. "What?"

"Keep in mind that God is always watching, whether you want him to or not."

Remy shook her head. "As far as I'm concerned, there is no God."

* * *

Remy had expected her apartment to seem vastly different when she walked through the door. But it was still the same old apartment she'd left behind. Her bamboo tree was still in the corner next to the television, her tea pot was still sitting next to her stove, and her bed was still impeccably made.

After dropping her bags next to the bag, Remy decided to make some tea. As the kettle was heating up there was a knock at the door.

"Not even here five minutes and someone's already bothering me," Remy muttered yanking the door open.

"What a surprise," Remy snorted, stepping aside to let her red-headed neighbor through. "Come on in. I'm making some tea."

Roy raised a suspicious eyebrow as Remy shut the door behind her and walked over to the stove. The chair at the breakfast nook made a screeching sound on the tile as Roy pulled it out.

"Do you like sugar in your tea?" Remy asked, absentmindedly examining the sugar packets on the counter. She turned around and held up a packet.

"Sure," Roy shrugged, watching as she leaned against the counter.

"I only have Splenda," Remy told him. "I hope that's alright."

Roy's eyebrow once again shot up. "Okay, are you sick or something? I've been here thirty seconds and you haven't insulted me."

"I'm afraid I just don't have the energy today," Remy sighed, turning away as the tea timer went off. "Come back in about a week and I'll be more chipper."

Roy was silent as Remy poured the earl grey tea into two mugs. She quickly ripped open the Splenda packets and mixed them in before sliding the mug over to Roy.

Remy lifted the cup to her lips as Roy finally spoke.

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

Remy lowered the cup and set it back on the counter. She searched his eyes for any signs of insincerity. Sure Roy had been nice to her, taken care of her bamboo tree and given her rides to school…

But could she trust him with anything more serious? He _had _handled her holiday angst in a reasonable fashion…

"You really want to know?"

"I do," Roy said seriously.

_How can I put this without giving away my secret identity?_ Remy wondered. She walked over to the other side of the counter and pulled out the chair next to Roy.

"Well, I was—uhh—fired from my job."

_My job: superhero._

"I'm sorry?" Roy said it like a question, with no real sincerity, eliciting a glare from Remy. "I didn't even know you had a job to be honest. Why were you fired?"

"Well I did have a job," Remy muttered. "And as to why I was fired well, it's kind of _all _my fault, which is unusual because—"

"You don't make mistakes," Roy snorted. "You've said that before. Trust me I get it."

Remy narrowed her eyes, but chose to otherwise ignore him. "I thought I could handle this big project—"

_Saving a Prince from a League of Super Assassins who I also happen to work for._

"—and I really didn't think it through. My boss—"

_Batman_.

"—basically told me I was taking my position for granted so he said that until I learned some appreciation, I couldn't come back."

Roy snorted. "That's not so bad."

Remy held up a hand. "Oh believe me there's more. My ex—"

_Criminal employer aka the League of Shadows._

"—boyfriend is really mad at me for breaking up with him—"

_Because _no _one betrays the Shadows._

"—and now he's stalking me."

_They're going to gut me._

Roy let out a low whistle. "I'll admit that sucks. But I'm not sure exactly what you want me to say."

"There's nothing to say," Remy told him firmly. "It's a shit load of trouble I _really _don't need right now."

Roy elbowed her in the ribs. "Hey at least no one died!"

Remy's expression went carefully blank.

"That's not entirely true. My mother, she—" Remy's voice grew quieter now "—passed away a few days ago. That was the cherry on top of all this wonderful luck."

Roy's expression softened at her statement and his blue eyes searched her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

Remy nodded. "It's fine, honestly. My mother—" Remy paused to clear her throat "—has been in a mental institution for the past few years. I guess I said goodbye to her a long time ago."

Roy nodded and tentatively reached for Remy's hand. Remy glanced up at his eyes and realized he was asking for permission.

Oddly enough, for the second time, she didn't pull away as he laced his fingers through hers.

_I've said no my whole life, _she reasoned, _and where has it gotten me? Absolutely nowhere._

"Were you close?" Roy asked.

"Once upon a time," Remy thought, thinking of all the time she and her mother had spent together. Her father had been gone a lot, which Remy had never really thought on until now. After all, when Remy was younger she had always shown an obvious adoration for her father and had definitely preferred him to her mother.

In retrospect, she realized that she should've been kinder to her mother, visited her more often, tried harder to find a doctor who could cure her.

Of course, it was all moot now that she was gone, but Remy couldn't help but feel guilty about how she had treated her mother.

"I mean, I'm not exactly the warm and fuzzy type," Remy sighed. "I was never that affectionate with my mom."

"I can't imagine you that way," Roy admitted. "But honestly? I wouldn't like you so much if you weren't—well the way you are."

"Well that's a nice way to lighten the mood." Remy raised an eyebrow at Roy's serious expression. "No bull? Not a joke? You _like_ me?"

Roy narrowed his eyes. "So what if I do."

"Well _shit_," Remy said. "That's… different."

"Different? Just what every guy wants to hear," Roy snorted. "Under normal circumstances I would've asked you out but now is obviously not the time."

Remy patted his hand and stood up from the chair. "You're not a complete idiot."

"Gee thanks," Roy said getting up as well.

Remy smiled slightly and grabbed the mugs—still full and no longer warm—and dropped them in the sink. "Seriously though? I'm sorry to dump all of that on you."

"Hey, everyone needs to vent sometimes," Roy shrugged, "and I am the one the ladies run to with their problems."

"Don't start being a jerk now," Remy warned.

"Well, _seriously_ though," Roy walked over to the sink to stand next to Remy. "I know _just_ the thing that'll help you cope."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "If you're going to say sex, then get out of my house. No alcohol either."

Roy snorted. "You're getting a little ahead of yourself. I was just going to recommend my step-dad's girlfriend's method for coping with her problems?"

"And that would be?"

"Eat shitloads of ice cream and watch sad movies," Roy finished with a grin.

Remy rolled her eyes. "Roy, I don't think that works for lost loved ones. It's a break up thing."

Roy pretended to be hurt. "You mean you're not the type to cry your eyes out at the sappy movies? I _never _would've guessed." Remy glared and Roy held his hands up. "Hey I'm just throwin' something out there."

Remy bit her lip, deciding something. "Well…it would be better than just hanging out here by myself."

"I'll make some popcorn then," Roy said, reaching for the cupboard. "Where do you keep your bowls?"

"Uh, no junk food," Remy informed him.

Roy sighed and retracted his hand. "I'll be right back then. Pick a sappy movie while I get _real_ food."

Remy shook her head, smiling slightly as Roy walked out her apartment door.

_ What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Late that night—or early in the morning depending on the way you look at it—Remy was awoken by a knock at her door.

Groggily, she glanced around the room, noting the empty popcorn bowl on the floor next to her head. She turned her attention to a sleeping Roy was sprawled out on the end of her couch, head tipped back, hands gripping Remy's feet.

_Kodak moment? _Remy thought sardonically as she carefully extricated her feet from Roy's iron grip.

Remy stumbled to the door, yawning all the while, haphazardly glanced through the peephole and pulled the door open.

"Hello?" Remy called, her voice carrying out into the empty hallway. It was then that she noticed the vase of white lilies sitting on her doormat.

Remy bent down and picked up the flowers, closing the door behind her as she walked back into the kitchen. Curious—and suspicious—she opened the card.

_Dearest Remy, _

_You'll be pleased to know that there are many more where these came from. Definitely enough to cover your dead, rotting body by the time I'm through with you. Looking forward to seeing you soon!_

_Kisses,_

_Jade_

_P.S. Your new boyfriend is _cute_! I'll have _so _much fun playing with him when you're gone._

Of course. Remy should have known. She set the card down with shaking hands and hurried to lock the front door and close the windows.

_As if that would help,_ she thought darkly.

She knew in her heart of hearts that Jade was going to make her suffer slowly.


	29. Phone Calls and Paranoia

Author's Note: Next chapter. I'm thinking there will be maybe three or four more chapters. Don't worry… I'll notify you of when that it and hopefully the end should be obvious but…who knows. Also, as soon as I find a suitable title for the sequel it will be posted in one of my author's notes. Lastly, sorry the chapter is so short. I've been busy planning the grand finale of this fic and this chapter didn't really go with the tone of the next few chapters. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Nine: Phone Calls and Paranoia

* * *

"_No."_

That one word grated against Remy's ears. She flinched and readjusted the phone to her ear.

"I'm suspended, I understand that," she told the Dark Knight. "But I honestly need the team's help with something. And to do that I need to tell them everything. And I mean _everything._"

"_The team can never know that you're working as a double agent with the Shadows_," Batman told her. "_It would_—"

"_Worked_," Remy interjected. "I _worked_ as a double agent for the Shadows. Past tense."

"_Logistics_," Batman muttered. "_Nevertheless I'm denying your request. Now if you'd only tell me what is that you need help with, I could perhaps convince the League to allot some resources to you._"

"I'm a part of the _Young _Justice team," Remy said quietly. "It's taken me a long time to realize that I do, in fact, need their help. I would trust them, and only them, to handle this."

"_The information you want to share with them could be dangerous to their safety_," Batman growled.

"Oh and I suppose traipsing around the globe performing covert missions for the Justice League is safe," Remy sneered.

_Calm, _she reminded herself. The only way Batman would believe that she was trustworthy was if she remained calm.

"_You're a loose canon Roulette, and until you prove to me that you can be trusted, I'm not allowing this."_

"Batman," Remy said, her voice taking on a slightly pleading tone. "This is as close to begging as it will ever get. Can't you just—I don't know—_do _something? Throw me a bone here!"

"_Give me one good reason."_

"Because I'm asking for your help," Remy said shortly. "I need to find the people who murdered my mother."

Remy heard Batman's sharp intake of breath. "_So this is a personal vendetta then?"_

"Yes," Remy sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward. "Whoever killed my mom wanted to get to me. I thought that the team—"

"_I'll consider it_," Batman cut her off. "_Give me a few days to do some research of my own and then I'll get back to you._"

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"_Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. My tolerance for you is waning thin._"

Before Remy could say any more, Batman hung up.

* * *

_Give Batman a few days, _Remy mused to herself later that day. She had basically holed herself up in her bedroom until _some _sort of a solution presented itself. She'd even gone so far as to move the television on top of her dresser and stock the drawers with various food items before barricading her bedroom door.

Remy was not leaving her room until she was certain something could be done about Cheshire, her precarious position on the team, and her mother's murderers.

Batman had told her to wait and in light of her precarious position on the team, she obliged.

Remy glanced at the clock, noting that it read just half past three. Roy had left this morning around ten—they _had _stayed up a bit late—and Remy had called Batman immediately afterwards.

_It's only been five hours, _she thought, irritated.

But what was she to do? Cheshire was no doubt stalking her and so childishly, Remy had locked herself in her room and barricaded the windows and doors. She wasn't in the right frame of mind to confront Cheshire in a fight. No doubt the Asian woman would make short work of her.

_But still… five hours in here and nothing to do except watch reruns of Scrubs._

"Screw that," Remy muttered, grabbing for her cell phone. She quickly dialed Dinah's number and listened as the phone rang.

Almost immediately, it went to her voice mail. Remy hang up and dialed information.

"_City and state please?"_

"Star City, California," Remy answered.

"_Looking at results for Star City, how may I help you?"_

"I need the phone number for the Star City Register."

_"One moment please…connecting you now."_

Remy drummed her fingers along her dresser and waited as the Star City Register's receptionist answered the phone.

"_Star City Register, this Monica. How may I help you?"_

"Hi, uh, Monica," Remy said. "I was sort of hoping to be connected to Dinah Lance."

"_Is she expecting your call?" _Translation: Do you have _any _clout whatsoever?

"No," Remy said quickly. "It's just, I tried her cell and it's off and this is kind of an emergency—"

"_May I ask who this is?"_

"Remy," she answered. After a pause she added, "I'm her sister."

"_Well unfortunately I can't connect you because that can't be verified but I'll let her know you called." _The woman's voice was sinfully cheerful, even though she was being a complete bitch. "_Have a nice day."_

"No! Wait just—" Remy let out a growl of frustration that echoed in the silence of her room.

_Now _what could she do?

* * *

Another three hours later, and Remy could hear someone knocking at the front door. They had been pounding on it for the past five minutes and Remy had yet to leave her barricaded bedroom.

No way in hell was she answering the door.

Dinah hadn't called her back and Remy realized, with regret, that she probably didn't want to talk to her. It certainly wasn't Roy, he had told her that he had an econ class that day.

The knocking persisted.

"Remy!" a muffled voice just managed to make its way to Remy's ears. "It's me! Dinah!"

Stubbornly, Remy plopped right back down on the floor. For all she knew, that could be Cheshire out there _mimicking _Dinah's voice.

"Remy if you don't open this door right now I'm kicking it in!"

_Go right ahead, _Remy sighed aloud. She was _not _opening the door.

"I'm kicking the door in!"

"Oh shut up," Remy muttered, getting to her feet. After begin cooped up in her room the whole day, she was going completely stir crazy. Maybe just crazy in general.

There was a bang as Remy heard her front door being kicked in and the clacking of heels followed after.

"Remy? Remy—why is the door barricaded? Oh for the love of—_Remy_!"

Remy remained silent through "Dinah's" string of expletives.

"I swear to God if you tried to hurt yourself I am _not _taking you to the hospital!" Dinah was muttering to herself. "This is what I get for—stupid kid—hate my job sometimes."

_Okay that's definitely Dinah. _

"Dinah?"

"Remy, for God sake's what are you doing?" she growled through the door. "The receptionist at the register said you called but I was in a meeting."

"I've been in here all day," Remy confessed.

"Why?"

"Long story," Remy sighed.

"You're not hurt are you?" Dinah asked.

"No."

"Then open the goddamn door."

"Right, sorry," Remy said, unlocking her bedroom door. Dinah's face greeted her over the pile of chair in between them.

Dinah climbed up the pile of chairs and stepped over into the bedroom, a frustrated look on her face. "What the hell is going on with you? Is this because of your suspension?"

"No!" Remy said quickly. "Well, yes, sort of. That's part of it."

Dinah sighed and took a seat on the bed. "If you're going to ask me to reinstate you on the team, the answer is no. Batman's right, you need to learn respect."

"This isn't about that," Remy shook her head.

"Then stop beating around the bush and tell me," Dinah said.

Remy took a seat next to Dinah. "Cheshire's out to kill me, I've got no team to back me up, my mother's dead and her murderers want me to play some sick little game with them." She paused and turned to look Dinah in the eye.

"I'm way in over my head, Dinah, and I really need your help."


	30. Dinah Helps Out

Author's Note: Wow consecutive updates! I am just on fire right now :) Alright, please read this guys, it's very important… This is the third to last chapter. That's right, only two more after this one. Then the sequel begins! I still haven't figured out the title for the sequel but I'll post it in the next chapter most likely. With that in mind, enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Thirty: Dinah Helps Out

* * *

Dinah stared at Remy open-mouthed.

"Did you just—"

Remy rolled her eyes. "Yeah I did. So I'll repeat it: I need your help."

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "That's—that's quite shocking actually."

Remy shrugged, getting up from the bed. Slowly, she walked from her dresser and to her bedside table a few times, gathering her thoughts.

"I just—When Batman suspended me from the team, it sort of woke me up," Remy admitted. "I thought I could handle rescuing the Prince but I jeopardized my position in the Shadows. I didn't think it all the way through."

"You're human," Dinah shrugged. "It happens."

"But now Cheshire is out for my blood and no doubt there will probably be a price on my head," Remy told her. "I can't fight the entire League of Shadows by myself. I can't take on the _world _by myself."

Remy swallowed and stopped her pacing. "This whole situation made me realize that I'm not invincible. And that you were right, it's not necessarily a weakness to ask for help."

Dinah smiled softly. "I'm proud of you for admitting that. It takes a strong person to admit that they were wrong."

Remy shrugged and continued pacing. "It wasn't easy, trust me. Ever since my "Free the Prince" plan, everything's kind of gone to the dogs. I feel like everything's gone wrong because of me."

Dinah stared at Remy seriously. "Your mother's death wasn't your fault."

Remy held up a hand and sauntered over to her dresser. "That's the thing, I know it was. Her murderers left me a note."

Remy opened up the middle drawer and moved some clothes aside. She removed the book the note had come in and tossed it to Dinah.

"They left me a coded message," Remy informed her, "correlating to page numbers, line number and words. Artemis and I figured it out after we spoke with the detective looking into my mom's case."

Dinah read the note to herself and looked at Remy. "Where did you find this?"

"Crime scene," Remy answered. "It wasn't my mom's, I know that. Someone left it there for me to find. Someone who wanted to contact me, obviously."

"'You are alone, now you are chosen. The game begins now. We are Occulta'," Dinah repeated. "That's irritatingly vague."

"Occulta is Latin for 'The Hidden'," Remy offered, somewhat unhelpfully.

Dinah nodded. "Who else could've left this for your mother?"

"Whoever drugged and killed her obviously," Remy shrugged.

"It's probably not the same person," Dinah said. "I'm sure the cops dusted this for prints. They must not have found anything interesting, otherwise they wouldn't have let you take it."

Remy bit her lip. "The only other visitor my mom had was a Dr. Van der Rhys. I'd never heard of him. Of course, I can't call the Detective about all of this because then it'll become evidence—"

"And the cops will blow the investigation and take years. This may be the only lead you have," Dinah told her, standing up, the book in hand. "Do you mind if I take this with me? I'll test it myself and we'll see if any DNA comes up matching a Van der Rhys."

Remy nodded. "Thanks Dinah."

Dinah headed towards the piled up chairs and stepped over, beckoning for Remy to follow her to the front door. "This really isn't necessary. I have your apartment under twenty four hour surveillance with a live stream going to my iPad."

Remy's eye twitched as she wondered at what Dinah had seen. "That is seriously creepy."

Dinah shrugged. "When the League decides to rehabilitate former criminals, we have to take precautions."

Mortified, Remy wondered if Dinah had seen Roy and her the night before. Of course, they hadn't _done _anything, just watched movies, but still. That was seriously weird. Remy had thoroughly checked for bugs when she moved in—apparently not well enough, however.

"Don't worry," Dinah reassured her. "I check it very infrequently. You don't have to worry about me _spying _on you."

_That's a relief._

"Although," Dinah paused, "I _did _happen to see a certain red-headed billionaire playboy camped out on the couch with you last night."

Remy pushed Dinah towards the door. "We're just friends."

Dinah laughed and stopped in her tracks. "I hope that he knows that." Remy's face heated up and she glanced pointedly at the door behind Dinah. "On a serious note, Cheshire won't get within a mile of this place. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks."

"It's not a problem," Dinah said, turning to go. "Oh and Remy?"

Remy raised an eyebrow.

Dinah reached forward and enveloped Remy in a hug. "I'm glad you called."

* * *

It was not five minutes after Dinah left Remy's apartment that Artemis called her.

"_Spill Vanderbilt_," she said. "_I've texted you five times in the past forty eight hours. What's been going on?"_

Remy snorted. "I didn't realize you _cared_."

"_Come on Remy_," Artemis huffed. "_My dad called and asked if I had heard from you and I had to lie. He told that Ra's is taking your stunt in Hungary as a sign of defection. They're mobilizing as we speak._"

"I know that," Remy sighed. "Cheshire already left me a warning."

Artemis snorted. _"She left you a note and didn't kill you? Strange."_

Remy's voice went flat. "She made it clear she wants to play with her food before eating it."

_"Ha ha_," Artemis said, her voice devoid of complete humor. _"Did you talk to Batman?"_

"I did," Remy confirmed, twirling a lock of hair in between her fingers.

"_And?_"

"He shut me down," she grumbled.

"_What?"_ Artemis snapped. "_That's ridiculous! What reason could he possibly have?"_

"He doesn't want me to 'endanger' the team," Remy sighed. "Which, fine, it is what it is. He's launching his own investigation and wants me to sit around and twiddle my thumbs."

Artemis scoffed. "_Yeah and in the meantime, Cheshire and the Shadows are out you're your blood."_ She paused a moment. "_Please tell me you still own a gun. I don't give a shit about the JL's rules."_

"Yeah I've got one left," Remy admitted. "But that's worst case scenario. Dinah agreed to help me."

"_That's a plus_," Artemis muttered. _"I've been trying to do some research on these Occulta people to help you on that front, but we've been pretty busy. The Mount was attacked yesterday_—"

"_Seriously?_" Remy raised her eyebrows.

"_Yeah, Rob and I were the only ones not captured. They had some sort of neutralizing reagent that stops meta-humans_."

"That's big, I—"

Remy broke off as her cell phone beeped, the signal that someone else was trying to call her. She glanced at the caller id, surprised when it flashed the name 'Wally.'

"Hey, can I call you back? Someone's on the other line."

_Don't ask who, don't ask who, _please_ don't ask who it is._

"_Who?"_ Artemis asked, suspicious.

Remy groaned. "It's Wally. Now I got to go. I'll fill you in later."

"_Fine but_—"

Remy pressed the end call button and linked up to Wally's line.

"Hello?"

"_Remy_? _It's Wally!" _Remy had to pull the phone away from her ear; Wally was practically shouting into her ear.

"Yeah, I got that," Remy muttered. "What's up?"

Wally was oddly silent for a moment.

Remy almost laughed. It was just like Wally to call her and then forget what he was going to say.

_"I was just uhh—"_

"Checking up on me?" Remy offered.

"_Yeah, I guess," _Wally admitted. "_I mean I know you probably don't want to hear from me but—"_

"No, no," Remy interrupted. "We're friends. It makes sense that you would want to check up on me." After a pause she added, "I'm fine, by the way. I'm just…dealing with it."

Wally seemed relieved. "_Well that's good, I mean you'll be back to kicking butt in no time with the te— Oh uhh _sorry_—"_

Remy was quiet for a moment. Could she tell Wally about Occulta? And the Shadows? Theoretically, she _could_, but that would make Batman even more angry with her. Maybe angry enough to kick her off the team permanently.

_This goes against my very nature,_ Remy realized with a snort.

"It's alright. I've got tons of Chemistry homework to keep me busy. Finals are coming up in a few weeks."

"_Oh right! About that—I was wondering if you wanted some help with that. You could come over to Central City and we could go study at this diner on 3__rd__." _Wally paused. "_If, you know, you're up to some quality time with the Wall-man."_

Remy laughed. "As long as the 'Wall-man' gets me a good grade, I'm up for anything."

"_Suh-weet!" _Wally cheered, causing Remy to roll her eyes. "_Uh—I mean cool, sounds good."_

"Right, well, I'm kind of busy this week," Remy said, thinking back to the list of things she had to do. Namely, prevent herself from getting killed and finding her mom's murderers. "But next week should be good."

"_Tuesday?_" Wally asked.

"Sure."

"_Cool I'll pick you up at 4," _Wally said cheerfully. "_M'kay bye!"_

"What do you mean you'll pick me—_oh!"_

But Wally had already hung up the phone.

Remy realized what Wally meant. Of course he would pick her up and run her back to Central City. How else was she supposed to get there?

She sighed, shaking her head as she sat down on her living room couch. As the day went on, Remy felt like she had been getting more and more confused.

And it was only six o'clock.

* * *

Later that night, news came from Dinah.

The blonde woman barged into Remy's apartment with a folder in hand. "There was a match for prints on the book."

"And?" Remy prompted.

"They match for a Dr. Erik van der Rhys," Dinah confirmed, passing the folder to Remy.

Remy looked down at the file and then back at Dinah. "This is a League file."

Dinah nodded. "I compiled it myself. All the information you could ever want on van der Rhys. There's nothing too suspicious—I mean he didn't have a file before this—but it does give his personal address and the address of his medical institute."

Remy opened the file and noted the address. "It's in the Netherlands, of course. Well that's just great."

"Oh come on," Dinah laughed. "This is what you want, isn't it? You should investigate the institute and talk to this doctor. Find out why he was so interested in your mom."

Remy ran a hand over her face. "Batman won't let me leave the country. He'll _kill _me. Literally."

Dinah smirked. "That's never stopped you before."

Remy's expression was flat as she regarded her mentor. "I've got a League credit card. You don't think Batman will get a tad bit suspicious when he sees that I've bought a plane ticket to Holland?"

"Of course he will, but if you're on League business with your mentor…" Dinah trailed off and finished with a grin.

"Then it would be absolutely within my rights as your partner, to go with you on a 'mission'," Remy said, smirking. "Dinah, I have to admit, I am slightly impressed with your deviousness."

Dinah laughed, taking out her wallet. "I wasn't always a member of the Justice League. In my younger days, I was quite the spitfire. The things I could tell you would shock the ears right off your head."

Remy raised an eyebrow, wondering at that. _Just _what had Black Canary been like when she had started crime fighting? She had mentioned how Wild Cat had kept her in check, which implied that she had been out of control before meeting him. But just _how _out of control?

"But _that_," Dinah said, noting Remy's thoughtful expression, "is a story for another time. If we're going to make it to the Netherlands in a reasonable amount of time, we're going to need to book the earliest flight out of here."


	31. Stake Out and Set Up

Author's Note: Okay, "Homefront" was quite possibly the most epic episode I've ever seen :) Did you guys love it or what? I also read on the Young Justice Wiki that Zatanna is rumored to be the next person to join the team. That should be interesting, yeah? Anyways, after this chapter there is just one left. I will be taking about a three week break after finishing this, just so that I can get ahead of my schoolwork. _Then_, I'll have more time to update :) The title of the sequel is "Amicable Anarchy." The title probably seems weird now, but it should make more sense once the sequel gets going. Also, I know absolutely nothing about hacking, but I did my best to make it sound realistic and cool (see below). Let me know what you guys think about the chapter. Also, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I _do _have a blog on tumblr. I'd love for you guys to follow me and I'd love to follow you as well. I might even post sneak peeks for my fics on my blog :) Here's the link http ; / / awakeforthenight . tumblr. com (remove all the spaces)

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Thirty One: Stake Out and Set Up

* * *

Immediately following their landing, Remy and Dinah headed for the nearest hotel. They needed a base of operations to organize and mobilize.

Just as Dinah had said, Batman had been extremely suspicious when she had informed him of her plans to take Remy to the Netherlands. But he hadn't had a solid reason for saying no, as Dinah had also pointed out.

So they had gotten out of the country without incident. Cheshire and the Shadows were quiet for the moment in the sense that there hadn't been any attempts on her life as of yet.

But even with Black Canary at her side, Remy knew better than to relax.

Sure, during her initiation, she had fought and killed members of the Shadows. But they had been low ranking compared to Cheshire and Sportsmaster.

Remy was almost certain that fighting either one of them would mean certain death. And the Shadows would have the element of surprise and endless resources on their side.

In the meantime, she had to figure out what Dr. Erik van der Rhys had to do with Occulta and, ultimately, her mother's death.

"This should serve as a decent enough base of operations," Dinah was saying as they entered the hotel room. "It's a public wifi network, which means our internet activity can be traced if anyone's looking."

"I'm not too fond of that notion," Remy sneered. "I'd prefer it if we stayed invisible."

Dinah rolled her eyes taking a seat at on the window sill. "No one will look for us in Holland, Remy."

Remy's eyes flashed as she turned to look at Dinah. "The Shadows don't have jurisdiction. They'll track me anywhere I go."

"They can, but I don't think they can handle two Leaguer's," Dinah smirked. "In any case, Batman's installed the highest security available on all of our computers. They shouldn't be able to track us."

Remy sighed, taking Dinah's computer out of the bag. She walked over to the computer desk and took a seat. "Our Dr. Van Der Rhys is obviously connected to Occulta. He's the one who left the note. So, following general logic, we need to set up a meeting."

Remy turned on the computer and patiently waited for it to load.

"I'm surprised you don't want to just break in," Dinah muttered.

Remy shook her head. "Why break in when I can be invited in?"

"You're learning," Dinah smirked, pulling a chair up next to Remy's. "Oh password is nine, twelve, eighty-three."

"What date is that?" Remy asked, typing it in.

Dinah's face colored slightly. "A friend of mine. His birthday."

Remy snorted as she opened up an internet browser. "Based on how red your face is, I'd say it's a boyfriend."

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Feel like talking about your red-headed neighbor?'

Remy relented, feeling her own face heat up. "Fair enough."

She turned her attention back to the internet browser and searched for the Van Der Rhys institute. "Even if I _can_ set up a meeting with this doctor, I want information on security protocols, facility blue prints, the works."

"Smart," Dinah commented. "Back up plans are a must."

"I ruined my place in the Shadows and on the team with my lack of thorough planning," Remy muttered. "I won't let that happen again."

Dinah nodded. "We should probably stake out the place tonight."

Remy shook her head as the Van Der Rhys Institute website opened up. "No need." She grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down the address and the phone number. Then she opened up the command prompt and started a scan for the Institute's main frame. "I can trace the IP address back to the institute and hack into the system from here once I know the location."

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "I had no idea you were a hacker."

"I use the term lightly," Remy snorted. "I'm no Boy Wonder, but I can hack most basic systems. Hopefully the Van Der Rhys Institute won't be too complicated."

Dinah shrugged and Remy sat back to watch her scan commence. Once the Institute was located the computer stopped on the correct IP address, allowing Remy to click on it.

"Thankfully, I can tell that the mainframe _is _in the Institute based on the address," Remy muttered. "Now I just need to find an entry point into the _actual _system."

Remy typed in a few basic hacking prompts to try and find the Institute's server, but to no avail.

"Shit," Remy muttered, glancing at Dinah. "That's the extent of my hacking skills."

Dinah laughed. "Try command prompt six, eight, three, underscore, JUSTICE, double backslash, SECURE BOT, four, nine, seven, backslash."

Remy raised an eyebrow but typed it in nevertheless. "Denied," Remy sighed. "What the hell was that anyways?"

"Justice League spyware program," Dinah explained. "I'm surprised that didn't work. Batman installed the program on my computer to help with a hack and it works on most systems. Most _advanced _systems."

Remy bit her lip. "Maybe we can gain access through the employee server?"

Dinah shook her head. "We'd either need an employee's account number and password or an override code straight from the top. After that, _maybe _Batman's software could work."

Remy stood up and pushed in her chair. "I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way then."

* * *

Remy and Dinah were crouched low in the bushes outside of the Van Der Rhys Institute gate later that evening, dressed completely in black. The night air was humid and Remy could feel herself sweating through her face mask.

"Are the ski masks necessary?" Remy whispered to Dinah.

"Yes," she replied. "If you _want _to be arrested, then by all means, take off the ski mask."

"Point taken," Remy grumbled.

They had been sitting there for the past hour, watching the guard gate. The facility was officially closed, but there were still a few cars in the parking lot. They just needed one key card from a decent-ranking employee to get them into the system. From there, they could download everything they needed and get back on track with the mission.

Remy sat back and stretched out her leg. Crouching in one place for over an hour was _not _good for your knees.

"Where's the coffee and donuts, Sarge?" Remy asked sarcastically.

Dinah shot her a look. "This is your mission, don't complain."

"I wasn't complaining, I was being a smart ass," Remy scoffed. "There's a difference."

"I thought we were past this stage."

"What stage?" Remy raise an eyebrow. "I may have checked my ego at the door, but you never said anything about a sharp tongue."

Dinah rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible."

"So I've been told," Remy muttered, turning her attention back to the guard gate. "Hey, wait, the guard is gone."

Dinah turned her head and face palmed before standing up. "Come on, let's go."

Dinah stood up and started out of the bush when Remy yanked her back down by the wrist.

"What?" Dinah asked. "We can nab building schematics from the guard house."

Remy pointed to a little black box just above the guard house. "Security camera." Remy glanced down around her at the ground until she found a rock the size of her palm.

"That's not a good—"

Remy pulled her hand back and chucked the rock, hitting the security camera hard enough to knock it off its pedestal.

"—idea," Dinah finished flatly. "They're going to notice that."

Remy shrugged, dusting herself off as she got to her feet. "It's just an outer camera and there's _supposedly _a guard here at all time. They'll think it's a glitch or something."

Dinah sighed and Remy didn't wait for her to agree, she jogged on ahead across the parking lot until she reached the guard house. The door was left unlocked so she pushed it open with her gloved hands.

Dinah followed behind her and closed the door behind them.

Remy sat down at the chair and pulled open top desk drawer. Finding nothing but pens and random receipts for a gas station, she moved on to the next two drawers.

"Here we go," Remy said, pulling out the black binder labeled 'Building Layout and Safety Protocols.'

"They may as well have just handed us the keys to the front door," Dinah smirked. "Hand me that, I brought my cell camera."

"It's just building layout, no information on the security system or mainframe," Remy said and passed Dinah the binder before opening up the last drawer. Remy could hear the sounds of Dinah flipping the pages and the clicking sound of her phone's camera, as she rifled through the bottom drawer.

"Jackpot," Remy laughed, pulling out a stack of employee key cards. "Congratulations Dinah, you are now Nati Rotmensen, janitor."

Dinah paused in her picture taking tirade and glanced at the employee key card. "That won't get us into the mainframe."

"No, but it will get _you_ into the facility when I have my meeting with Dr. Van Der Rhys," Remy told her. "Speaking of which, I should probably give them a call and set it up asap."

"I might be able to lift another card from a car," Dinah muttered, commencing her picture taking once more.

Remy shook her head, looking towards the parking lot. In time to see a red Mercedes heading for the guard gate. She dropped to her knees and yanked on Dinah's wrist to get her down on the ground as well.

"Car," Remy hissed.

Dinah looked around the small guard house furtively. "This is our chance to lift the key card."

Remy scoffed. "We're wearing ski masks, Dinah. They're definitely going to report this."

Dinah raised her head slightly. "Why aren't they driving throu—oh they're waiting for us to open the gate." The blonde cast another glance around the room until she caught sight of the security guard's hat. "Bingo."

"What are you doing?" Remy whispered as Dinah yanked her ski mask off and slid the guard hat on.

"Working with what I've got," she winked, hopping up, walking out of the guard house. "_Goedenavond! Het mooi uit, is het niet?_"

"She speaks Dutch?" Remy whispered to herself.

Remy listened as Dinah had a chat—in fluent Dutch—with whoever was in the car. Whoever this person was, they were obviously dumb enough to believe that Dinah was actually a security guard.

_Well, _Remy thought, _it _is _Europe. Maybe he's drunk after his twenty-seventh beer today._

"_Ja, ja. Ik zal het terug naar u zo spoedig mogelijk_," Dinah was saying as she backed towards the guard gate. She winked at Remy as she flipped the switch to open the gate and the car was allowed to speed through.

"Whew!" Dinah muttered as she slid back down to the floor. "That was a close one."

"Quick thinking," Remy commented, handing Dinah her ski mask. "What did you say to him?"

"Told him the Institute needed to check his employee ID for security reasons and that the receptionist hadn't asked him for it because she'd forgotten," Dinah pulled the mask back on and set the hat back down from where she got it. "He seemed to buy it."

"Then that's all we need," Remy smirked, hopping up. "Let's hit it before the real guard comes back. We can hack into the mainframe tonight and I'll set up an appointment tomorrow morning."

* * *

The next morning Remy and Dinah sat together, coffee and donuts in hand, mulling over the data they'd collected. Together, they went over every inch of the Van Der Rhys Institute campus. From the bathrooms to the sub-level labs to the garages, Remy and Dinah knew where every camera blind spot and possible exit route was located.

"I think we've got it covered," Dinah said, setting down their hard copy of the schematics. "I'll pick up a janitor's uniform from the dry cleaners down the street and then we'll be good to go."

Remy nodded, picking up the phone. She dialed the number of the Van Der Rhys Institute and waited.

"_Van Der Rhys Institute," _a young woman answered with a thick Dutch accent.

"I'd like to speak with Dr. van Der Rhys," Remy said, keeping her voice firm. Dinah nodded approvingly and sipped her coffee.

The woman on the other end clucked her tongue in annoyance. "_I'm afraid that won't be possible, the Doctor is very busy and is not accepting calls at this moment._"

"Oh I think he'll make an exception for me."

"_What is your name, miss?_"

"Remy Vanderbilt."

Remy could hear the clicking of computer keys as the receptionist no doubt searched her name.

_"I apologize Miss Vanderbilt,_" the receptionist said after a moment's silence. "_But you are not in our system. I cannot bother the Doctor with a common stranger's whim._"

"He'll want to talk to me," Remy said confidently. "So I'll give you a message for him. Can I count on you to give it to him at your earliest convenience?"

The woman sighed. "_Fine. What would you like me to tell him?_"

"Tell him that Remy Vanderbilt wants a meeting. Tell him that I'm ready to begin the game."


	32. Awaken

Author's Note: Final chapter! Then, on the first of November, I will release the first chapter of "Amicable Anarchy." I just really wanted to say thanks to all of you guy who have alerted, favorite and reviewed. I really could not have done it without any of you. A special thanks to , _x-butterflykisses-x_, and _TMNTxMadness _for being there from day one really! You guys wrote the most amazing reviews and I wouldn't have been able to finish this without you. Now, without further ado, the finale of _No Risk, No Reward._

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Two: Awaken

* * *

It had taken a total of five minutes before the receptionist from the Van Der Rhys Institute called Remy back wanting to set up an appointment for as soon as possible.

For the first time in a while, everything seemed to be going well. She was about to get to the bottom of the mysterious group Occulta _and_ she was working with Black Canary, an actual member of the Justice League.

"You know, I'll admit I'm actually kind of happy right now," Remy said, her voice thoughtful.

"You're happy?" Dinah raised her eyebrows. "To meet with the man who murdered your mom?"

"No," Remy sighed, lifting up her pant leg to attach a weapons strap. "I just never thought that _I _would make it here. As a junior member of the Justice League working with Black Canary."

Dinah smiled as Remy reached down to strap her extendable bow staff to her leg. "You've got skills kid, the League takes notice of those things."

Remy blanched. "I'm pretty sure they took notice of my natural affinity for fatally breaking people's necks first."

Dinah's smile faltered a little bit and she came to stand next to Remy. "About that… Remy, I know you think this man murdered your mother—"

"Think?" Remy shook her head, reaching down to her other leg to strap on a knife. "I'm certain."

Dinah opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and then spoke again. "That may very well be true. But I am telling you this as a friend: you _cannot _kill Dr. Van Der Rhys."

Remy stayed silent, not looking at Dinah.

"Remy, vengeance won't—Remy, _look_ at me," Dinah put a hand on Remy's shoulder, forcing her to look at Dinah. "Killing him will not bring your mother back. And if you _do _kill him, I can't protect you from the League. I will have no choice but to arrest you, Batman will arrange for you to be held at the Watchtower, and nothing I say will stop that."

Remy swallowed, her tongue feeling thick as Dinah continued.

"The League took a huge risk in taking you on. You may not be of use to us as a double agent anymore, but you are _still _a valuable member of the team. You can do some good, Remy. Don't screw this up in some twisted push for vengeance."

Remy looked away from Dinah for a moment, astounded by what the older woman had said. _No_ one had ever told Remy anything like that. No one had ever seemed to care that much.

Remy had always been the loner, an emancipated youth with a dead father and an insane mother. No teacher had ever shown an interest in her. None of her 'friends' parents every really cared whether she had a place to live or food to eat.

This feeling was…foreign to her. And after the past few weeks, Remy had to admit that it was nice having friends who cared about her.

She vowed that she would treat the team—and Dinah—infinitely more respectfully when she returned to Mount Justice.

"I—I won't kill him," Remy said after a moment of contemplative silence. "I just want to find out what this group is about and why they have an interest in me. Nothing more."

Dinah smiled softly. "Glad to hear it. Now finish suiting up. It's time to infiltrate."

* * *

"_I'm in position, had no problem getting into the staff lounge in the lab building._" Dinah's voice filtered in through Remy's comlink as she walked through the front door of the Van Der Rhys Institute.

The snarky receptionist was waiting for her and greeted her with a nice fake smile. "Miss Vanderbilt?"

Remy nodded and stopped just next to the reception desk. Behind Remy, a group of bustling employees laughed together as they passed through the outer doors and into the Institute.

"Dr. Van der Rhys has been expecting you," the woman said. "However he's just gone into a meeting. In the meantime, I've been asked to give you a tour of our facilities if you are interested."

"_Take_ _the tour,_" Dinah advised. "_I'll head for the meeting rooms upstairs and see if Dr. Van Der Rhys is really there._"

"Sounds good," Remy said, in part responding to Dinah. "And you are?"

"Annika," the blonde woman said plainly, scooting out of her chair. "Now if you'll follow me."

Annika teetered on a pair of four inch heels towards the glass doors Remy had seen the other employees pass through. Remy followed Annika closely, looking for any strange behavior as they passed through a room filled with cubicles.

It seemed normal enough to Remy's eyes.

"This is where insurance claims and employee disputes are handled. Just through those doors—" Annika pointed to another collection of glass doors on the opposite side of the room, "—is where our legal counsel meets on a daily basis."

"What exactly is it that you do here?" Remy asked Annika as they headed for an elevator.

"Genetic research mostly," she answered. "The Van Der Rhys institute is one of the foremost medical research institutes in the world. Currently, the doctor claims to be working on a cure for autism."

"_They're also known for doing highly illegal human testing,_" Dinah added. _"But that's off the record. Not really talked about in the medical world._"

"A noble cause," Remy said blankly.

"The doctor is a very socially conscious man," Annika added, summoning the elevator. "He has a multitude of highly skilled assistants, but he still insists upon doing most of the work himself."

Remy nodded as the elevator doors opened and she and Annika stepped in.

"Miss Vanderbilt," Annika said after a moment of silence. "Would you care to see the labs?"

"Of course," Remy answered, watching carefully as Annika opened up a separate panel under the elevator buttons. She pressed the button B5 and smiled as the elevator began to go down.

"_I'm almost to the boardroom, I can hear voices down the hall,_" Dinah told her. "_Confirming—doctor—office is—can't hear—"_

Remy flinched as her ear comm clicked off. That was not a good sign; it meant Remy and Dinah had fallen out of the signal range. That meant that wherever Annika was taking her, was _far _below the surface.

Remy patted her thigh almost imperceptibly, assuring herself that she was armed and that she would be fine.

* * *

When Annika and Remy arrived on basement level five, Remy was certain that someone was about to pop out of a hidden compartment and bag her.

Of course, that didn't happen. Annika merely showed her where the researchers were working and explained the cutting edge technology the Institute was known for.

After that, they were headed back up to the fifth floor (above ground) to wait for Dr. Van Der Rhys.

Gradually Dinah's signal came back and Remy could hear the blonde women's mutterings in her ear.

"That was a wonderful tour, Annika," Remy said loudly. "I'll be sure to tell Dr. Van der Rhys about how accommodating you were."

Annika waved her off. "It is nothing. Better than sitting at my desk and answering phones. But, thank you, I appreciate that."

Dinah's relieved chuckle filtered in through Remy's ear. "_Good, you're back. If only she knew that you're completely full of shit._"

Remy rolled her eyes as she Annika approached the Doctor's main office. The blonde receptionist slid her key card near the door and held it open for Remy.

"Have a seat, Miss Vanderbilt," Annika told her. "The Doctor will join you in a few moments."

"Thanks," Remy nodded, watching as Annika closed the door behind her and disappeared from Remy's sight.

Remy glanced around the office as she took a seat, noting the obvious. It was a doctor's office and therefore, very clean. The books were perfectly stacked on the shelves behind the desk, the chair was pushed in, and every single piece of paper seemed to have a specific place.

"Dinah? You there?" Remy whispered, speaking directly to her mentor for the first time.

"_I read you_," she answered back. "_What's up?_"

"I'm in the Doctor's office," Remy told her. "He's not here yet. Have you seen him?"

"_Yeah, he left about fifteen minutes ago,_" Dinah said, sounding confused. "_Told his colleagues he was going back to his office. What floor are you on?_"

"Fifth," Remy answered slowly.

"_I'm in the basement now, but that's where I was_," Dinah responded after a moment. "_It does _not _take fifteen minutes to walk down the hall. Be on guard, Remy. I'm heading your way now._"

"Sounds good, I don't like this. It's—"

Remy was cut off as a black burlap sack came down over her head. She grunted, reaching down for the staff in her boot.

Before she could get there a large hand reached out and grabbed hers, yanking her arm behind her.

"_Remy?_" Dinah's voice sounded worried but the burlap sack was practically stuffed into her mouth, preventing her from speaking. All she could do was grunt as her attacker forced her off the chair and on to her knees, before both of her hands were cuffed behind her.

"_Remy! I'm coming to get you just—_"

Remy let out a small screech noise as Dinah's voice cut out of the comm. That meant that either someone was jamming the signal or Dinah had taken a blow to the head and her comm had been crushed.

The former seemed more likely.

Still, Remy could do nothing with her hands, save for kicking her feet around uselessly in the general vicinity, until she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

Her head hit the bottom of a cart before the rest of her body did and she let out a grunt of pain.

_I knew this was too easy._

* * *

Remy could hear a few people speaking in low voices as she was set down on a cold table. She immediately started trying to roll off the table and someone—whoever had put the damn sack over her head probably—held her down as straps were placed over her upper and lower body. The handcuffs were removed and instead her arms were strapped down tightly next to her body as were her legs.

The burlap sack was the last to go. Remy sucked in a breath of air immediately and rapidly turned her head to find the person who'd bagged her. A cold finger reached into her ear and pulled out the comlink.

A menacing figure stood just beyond the lighted area in what was clearly a lab, his arms crossed and his face hidden in shadows. A more visible figure stood at the foot of the medical table. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties with a smattering of gray in his brown hair.

"Hello Miss Vanderbilt," he said in a thick Dutch accent. "I'm Dr. Erik van der Rhys. Pleased to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," Remy spat. "Where _am _I?"

The doctor chuckled. "You're in a lab of course."

Remy craned her neck as he walked over to a cabinet and began rummaging through the drawers. "You're going to want to let me out of here. Immediately."

The doctor ignored her and pulled out a syringe with a long needle and a vial of yellow liquid. He walked over to the bedside table next to where Remy was laying and set down the vial and syringe before turning on a heart monitor.

Remy's voice was harsh as she spit out her next words. "There is a member of the Justice League waiting for me. When I don't contact her or show up, she _will _come looking for me and arrest _you_."

"Holland does _not _fall under the Justice League's jurisdiction I'm afraid." The doctor shook his head as he pushed aside Remy's shirt to stick on the heart monitor pads.

"Don't _touch_ me!" Remy hissed.

"Try to stay calm, Miss Vanderbilt," Dr. van der Rhys said, his tone apathetic. "This is, after all, what you wanted."

"What are you talking about? You murdered my mother. You're a _fucking_ psycho. I just wanted a meeting. To know _why_ you did it." Remy glared at him as she struggled against her restraints, to no avail. She let her head drop down with a huff.

The fast beeping sounds coming from the heart monitor captured Remy's attention momentarily.

"Mr. Jones," Dr. van der Rhys said, keeping his grey yes on Remy as he spoke, "stand by with the second formula."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Remy demanded, watching as the menacing figure behind the doctor stepped into the light, a syringe filled with a silver liquid in his hands.

The doctor approached her, a small smile on his face. "Why so eager to leave, Miss Vanderbilt? The game is just beginning."

Remy could hear her heart rate speed up as Dr. van der Rhys came to stand next to her, syringe poised just above her skin.

"You won't get away with—_ow_—this," Remy swallowed as she watched the yellow liquid empty into her arm.

The doctor chuckled. "Death is nothing to fear, Remington. I rather think your mother is better off now than she was alive."

"You bastard, you—" Remy broke off as she felt her muscles stiffen and begin to cramp. Slowly, her throat began to close up, blocking her air flow.

Silently, she pleaded for help, unable to make any audible noises except for choked sobs and desperate gasps for air.

_Oh my god, _she thought, _I'm dying. This is it._

Remy had often wondered what it would be like to die. Would it be peaceful? Would it hurt? She had once even welcomed the prospect of wiping herself off the face of the earth—she couldn't hurt anymore people that way.

But now, every fiber in her body screamed in pain and she could do nothing as she felt her throat tighten up further.

All she could think was: _This is it._

She could hear her heartbeat on the monitor gradually slowing down as her lungs seized and her body slumped, lying completely lifeless on the medical table.


	33. Very Important Update

Hey guys, just a quick update. The sequel to this story is now up. It's called "Amicable Anarchy." There will be infinitely more of the team, more romance, more humor, more action, and more of Remy's downright cheerful personality! I really hope you guys enjoy it!


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